Jules Bianchi: Charles Leclerc pays touching tribute to godfather and recalls their childhood adventures
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Charles Leclerc paid tribute to his godfather, Jules Bianchi, a decade after the Frenchman's death following a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
The Monegasque driver shared childhood anecdotes, recalling the adventures he, Jules, and their brothers had growing up.
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Leclerc also highlighted the character trait he remembers most vividly about Bianchi.
“My first memories of Jules aren't of Jules the driver, but Jules the person. I knew him more as a person than as a racer. We spent a lot of time together as kids. Our families were, and still are, very close. My older brother (Lorenzo) and Jules were close friends, so he was always around. Jules was eight years older than me, closer to my brother's age. I was six or seven, and at that age, the age gap feels bigger. But over time, that difference became smaller and smaller, and we became close friends.
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"I have memories from that time like the first time I watched a scary movie; it was with Jules. He didn't know I was pretending to be asleep. He wanted to make sure I was asleep because he wanted to watch the movie with my older brother. Jules was a genuinely good person. He was funny, and he had these crazy moments when you got to know him. He was always happy to help and have fun.”
“Jules Was the Most Competitive Person I’ve Ever Met”: Leclerc Reveals How Bianchi Shaped His Winning Mentality
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The relationship between Leclerc and Bianchi went beyond motorsport. Their shared childhood, filled with innocent mischief and family traditions, laid a foundation of trust and inspiration that still fuels Leclerc today.
“My clearest memories of him are probably from when I was six or seven, and I was allowed to kart with him and my brother for the first time. Usually, the rental karts are for adults, but his dad ran the track and let us do things that weren't normally allowed. I looked up to him, so to race with him, my brother, his younger brother, and many other professional kart racers at the time was incredible. We had so much fun. We'd hang out and wait for the track to close to the public so we could drive. We'd get up to mischief for hours. Those are perhaps my most special memories.
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"Jules was the most competitive person I've ever met, and I feel like I have that quality because of him. I saw it in him when we raced, but also when we were messing around at home. He'd get annoyed when he lost, at anything. He was so driven that if he wasn't good at something, he'd practice every spare moment for the next two or three months.I remember once we played squash.
"The first few times, he was already much better than me, but I remember that after five or six months, he organized a tournament with a top-20 player in the world. He actually did really well, which was impressive because he just practiced every day to get better at squash. That's a trait I always admired in Jules.
"He never gave up and worked incredibly hard to improve. He gave his all in everything he did.I hope Jules is remembered as a truly talented driver who, unfortunately, didn't get the chance in a top team to show his talent. There are many people where you can see through their eyes, through their smile, how good they are. I think Jules was one of them. For me, that's probably the most important thing I remember about Jules—how kind he was and how dedicated he was to his goals.”
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Charles Leclerc has often been praised for his resilience and fierce competitive spirit, qualities that he now attributes in part to the influence of his late godfather, Jules Bianchi.
As the lights go out at Spa, a circuit rich in sentiment and memory, Leclerc’s drive will no doubt carry the spirit of Jules Bianchi, reminding fans that behind every helmet is a history far deeper than the stopwatch can measure.
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