“The grandstands that Charles Leclerc saw built as a kid growing up, now rise for him”, commentated Alex Jacques as deafening applause spread across Monaco, with the crowd witnessing its first home winner in 93 years. With this goosebump-inducing moment finally ticked off the box, the Monegasque has become a 2024 championship contender. But the magnificent racer that has conquered F1’s most prestigious Grand Prix fortuitously emerged from a day of skipping school.

After 5 failed attempts at winning his home race, Leclerc finally conquered the principality. Having led all 78 laps around the Circuit de Monaco, the Ferrari driver finally achieved his lifelong dream and gave a heartfelt tribute to his late father, Herve Leclerc. In his latest appearance on the Jay Shetty podcast, Leclerc spilled the beans on how his F1 dream was born by deceiving his father.

“First of all, I started by total coincidence,” the Monegasque said about his first racing experience ever. “I was a kid, three and a half years old, and I didn’t want to go to school that day. I told my father I was ill, and he believed me. By coincidence, he had to go and see his best friend who owned a karting track. So I got in the car with him, went there, and I was seeing the karting going around the track.”

But plainly observing the other kids karting turned the gears within him to participate too. “I was asking, ‘Can I try?’, but obviously, there are not really any karts made for a three and a half years old kid,” Leclerc added. “Luckily, the owner, Jules Bianchi’s father, Philippe Bianchi, had a kart for his son when he was three and a half. So everything was ready. I remember, (on) the first lap, they attached a rope to my kart and there was an adult driving in front of me to make sure I’ll be able to turn, etcetera.”

When the cautious adults finally freed him from the rope, his inner competitor kicked in. “After the first lap, we took off the rope, and I went on till there was no fuel left. The feeling of being in control of the kart at such a young age was something very amazing to experience. I loved the adrenaline that it gave me,” he admitted with a sparkle in his eyes.

If you are a parent reading this, you might want to reconsider not giving in to your child’s excuses. He or she could turn out to be F1’s next big find. While Charles Leclerc has finally conquered his Mount Everest, he remains wary of not getting swept away mindlessly.

Charles Leclerc warns Ferrari to not get carried away after dominant Monaco GP display

Red Bull has lost their edge as the field converges with the 2024 championship on the line. Though Max Verstappen is predicted to still be the top dog around traditional F1 circuits, the RB20 has its obvious disadvantages, as exposed by Monaco’s bumpy track. Despite this, Charles Leclerc is taking it step by step to avoid building overconfidence.

“We shouldn’t get carried away,” the Monegasque said post-race. “Obviously, Monaco is such a specific track and I think we had a really good car this weekend. It doesn’t mean that it will stay like that until the end of the year.”

Though he later admitted that Ferrari has ‘maximized’ all opportunities in 2024, Verstappen’s threat is imminent. Will the Ferrari talisman be able to hold his ground when Red Bull returns to the top?