Breaking news

Formula 1

Leclerc: Bianchi deserved Ferrari seat more than me

Charles Leclerc says close friend Jules Bianchi probably deserved a Ferrari Formula 1 race seat more than him – and would have delivered better results than he has so far.

Jonathan Noble

Published: Apr 26, 2020, 8:15 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Jules Bianchi and Charles Leclerc

Last week, Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo listed Bianchi as one of his most underrated rivals, and suggested that the Frenchman would have been as big a star at Ferrari as Leclerc has become, were it not for his death as the result of injuries sustained in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

“It's another part of what makes his story so sad, because [Bianchi] would have been in a top team and a race winner by now for sure," Ricciardo wrote.

"In some ways, I feel Charles is doing now what Jules would have been doing. It's like Charles is the delayed version of what Jules would have done with the success he's having."

Leclerc and Bianchi were very close friends. Bianchi was Leclerc's godfather and served as his racing mentor, with the pair also both managed by Nicolas Todt.

Asked about Ricciardo’s comments, Leclerc agreed that Bianchi would have had a stellar career at Ferrari.

“Jules had shown what he had to show in F1, and there was definitely a lot more to come,” said Leclerc. “But I think results like [scoring points] in Monaco, when he was in Marussia, were telling a lot about his talent.

“So he definitely deserved the F1 seat, the Ferrari seat, probably even more than I did. But [fate] decided something other for him unfortunately. But I'm pretty sure he would have shown probably even more than what I do and yeah, he was extremely talented.”

Leclerc said that it had been noticeable throughout their careers, with their fathers good friends, how similar their rise to the top had been.

“I think our fathers, the father of Jules and my father, always joked that we had a very similar career,” he said. “And strangely also when he [Bianchi] was racing and I was racing, if he had a very bad race that weekend, the same weekend, I will have a very bad race too.

“They were always joking with this, and I think with our careers, obviously they are quite similar because also with Nicolas, my manager.”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Renowned former F1 designer Divila dies aged 74

Next article The hits and misses among Red Bull's 85 F1 proteges

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

FIA reveals latest ADUO results in final review of 2026 F1 season

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 1 h

FIA reveals latest ADUO results in final review of 2026 F1 season

Toyota “sad” WEC drivers' title was effectively decided before Monza finale

WEC

WEC WEC

Monza

1 h

Toyota “sad” WEC drivers' title was effectively decided before Monza finale

Honda struggling to explain Lance Stroll’s 13th DNF of the season

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

2 h

Honda struggling to explain Lance Stroll’s 13th DNF of the season

Massimo Rivola: 'Aprilia didn’t lose the championship, Marc Marquez won it'

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

3 h

Massimo Rivola: 'Aprilia didn’t lose the championship, Marc Marquez won it'

Feature

Discover prime content

Why Rafael Camara should take heart from a tough F1 debut in Brazil

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Rafael Camara should take heart from a tough F1 debut in Brazil

How Formula 1 proved the naysayers wrong – for once

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Stuart Codling

How Formula 1 proved the naysayers wrong – for once

How Lando Norris prevailed in a swift errors tour of Interlagos

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Stuart Codling

How Lando Norris prevailed in a swift errors tour of Interlagos

"He really wanted it" – why Russell was furious over aborted Brazil ‘pole’ lap

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Stuart Codling

"He really wanted it" – why Russell was furious over aborted Brazil ‘pole’ lap

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts