Charles Leclerc Poetically Urged to Follow in Michael Schumacher’s Footsteps Instead of Religious Detour

It was heartbreak during the formation lap for the Ferrari fans who had come to support Charles Leclerc’s resurgence at the Brazilian GP. Whilst the Monegasque was supposed to start the race from the front row behind Max Verstappen, tragedy struck again when Charles Leclerc crashed out during the formation lap due to losing the hydraulics and the engine. The rear wheels locked up, sending Leclerc and the Tifosi’s hopes tumbling into the barriers.

After a series of unfortunate events have plagued much of the No. 16 driver’s 2023 campaign, he had revealed that he wished to reschedule his flight from Brazil to the Lourdes instead of Los Angeles. Owing to the Notre Dame, the Monegasque believed only such a heavenly place could undo the curse that seemed to be placed on him. However, with a sense of delivering poetic justice, Charles Leclerc has been offered an alternative that has been tested by Ferrari’s greatest driver of all time, Michael Schumacher.

Does Michael Schumacher’s past hold the key to Charles Leclerc’s future?

It’s safe to say that Charles Leclerc has had a dismal year with the Maranello outfit, with the first signs of a woeful period for the Monegasque coming at the Bahrain GP, when Leclerc had to retire with an engine issue. It was no better at the following race in Saudi Arabia, with Leclerc sustaining a 10-place grid penalty for another blunder on behalf of the engineering department. Even in Australia, Leclerc entered a pirouette after contact with Stroll put him out of the race!

With unreliability and disqualifications plaguing him for the second half of the year, Leclerc had reached his breaking point at the Brazilian GP, where he burst out on the radio, Why the  f*** am I so unlucky?” After realizing his string of bad luck seemed to have no end, Leclerc claimed he wanted to reschedule his flight to Lourdes, hoping a pilgrimage would cleanse him of the ill luck.

But that’s when QNMotori released a wholesome and poetic message to the Monegasque. They shed light on Schumacher’s heroics in a place just 6 hours away from Lourdes and suggest Charles Leclerc should focus on a similar approach instead of going on a spiritual quest. Before the seven-time champion made his debut in 1992 with the Jordan Grand Prix team, the German had an impressive day (and night) out at the 24H of Le Mans just a year prior.

READ MORE: Ferrari Mocked for “Pussyfooting” as Max Verstappen’s Engineer Becomes Poster-Boy for Excellence

Michael Schumacher was a member of the Mercedes young driver team during 1991 24H of Le Mans, entering the race with the No.31 Sauber-Mercedes C11, alongside Fritz Kreutzpointner and Karl Wendlinger. They had a mega race after qualifying fourth on the grid. The team made it up to the third place with Schumacher putting in the fastest lap of the race with a 3:35.564, but eventually fell to fifth by the time the checkered flag could be seen.

Carlos Sainz will be more than happy to help!

After his Le Mans shenanigans, Michael Schumacher went on to join Formula 1 only three months later and then won his first championship in only his third season in the sport. Whilst Charles Leclerc has been here for some time, it’s safe to say that making a switch to Le Mans, especially with Ferrari’s comeback, could perhaps play out better for the Monegasque.

After Ferrari’s return to the top step at Le Mans on the 100th Anniversary of the event, there may be some solid backing to this seemingly innocent advice, with Carlos Sainz also expressing his interest in the prestigious endurance race and wanting to race alongside Charles Leclerc. “It was an incredible feat by the team. We are all very proud of what we achieved,”

Whilst his Spanish teammate had shared his support if Leclerc were to decide to compete in Le Mans, the Monegasque feared that the current calendar is too jam-packed for that to be possible, he was quoted by racingnews365, “With more and more races in F1 it starts to become more and more difficult I think to fit another race in another category where you need to do testing. If the calendar lets me do it, why not? But at the moment it looks difficult.” 

WATCH THIS STORY | Inside Michael Schumacher’s Car Collection

Whether Charles Leclerc decides to visit Lourdes or chooses to refresh his racing spirit at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the pressure on Ferrari and Leclerc to figure out what’s wrong is increasing by the minute. And with only two races left this season, Leclerc has his fingers crossed he won’t be as unlucky!