Il Predestinato: How Charles Leclerc won the Tifosi’s hearts
In his six-year tenure at the prancing horses, Charles Leclerc has become synonymous with the iconic red cars. He’s quickly become the Ferrari golden boy, championship hopes riding on his shoulders. Despite his Monégasque heritage, he bleeds rosso corsa as much as the Tifosi.
However, it wasn’t always the blinding support Leclerc sees now when he sets foot on Italian soil. Respect from the Tifosi is earned, not given, and when the 21-year-old put on the famed red race suit, it was watched with apprehension and judgement of every mistake.
His rookie season had been impressive, bringing results that were above expectations of the 20-year-old in the Sauber, taking the FIA Rookie of the Year and collecting 39 points in comparison to Marcus Ericsson's nine.
As a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, the rumours of Leclerc replacing Kimi Räikkönen arose quickly, and before long he became the first FDA driver to make the jump into the team. One of the youngest ever drivers to do so.
His promotion was marred with caution. Sebastian Vettel was supposed to be the team's focus, the four-time world champion desperate to complete the Formula One objective of not just winning, but winning with Ferrari. Now the prancing horses were bringing in a young talent, who was surrounded by expectation.
In Bahrain, Leclerc grabbed headlines, taking his maiden pole position. He followed it up with a stellar performance, all but storming to a maiden win until an engine issue with just ten laps remaining left him down in third. A podium, but not the win he wanted.
However, his performance made the Tifosi, along with the other teams and drivers, realise the Monégasque’s potential. The true reality of the 21-year-old's potential wasn’t accepted until the Belgian and Italian Grand Prix.
The Turning Point
In an era where Mercedes seemed invincible and the Tifosi’s hopes had dwindled beyond belief. The dominance seen with Schumacher was something the Tifosi ached for, but it hadn’t been seen in years and was beginning to feel like fans may never see another champion in red.
Yet, for the Belgian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc lined up on pole again. This time, the Ferrari driver was able to convert it and took his maiden victory, with Sky Italia uttering the words, “Il predestinato vince” as Leclerc crossed the line first.
It wasn’t the first time Carlo Vanzini had referred to Leclerc as the predestined one, the first coming when the Monégasque was just 15 years old. Vanzini tells a story of interviewing Leclerc as part of a media training exercise, the future Ferrari driver being coached on how he should respond to questions if his teammate was fighting for the title and Leclerc needed to support him.
After the session, Leclerc came up to Vanzini and clarified, "There is no way my teammate will be the one fighting for the championship and not me." Leclerc’s words run true as he’s held close to every teammate he’s been up against, and in 2019, he was about to take that step closer to becoming the Ferrari golden boy he’s known as today.
It wasn’t until the next round, at Ferrari’s home, that the nickname rang true for the thousands of fans watching on. Leclerc defended the two Mercedes, desperately trying to pass the young Monégasque, but with the cheers of the Tifosi urging him on, Leclerc fended off the silver arrows and returned the prancing horses to the top step, at home, for the first time since 2010.
Once again, the words ‘il predestinato vince’ were uttered. ‘The predestined’, but this time it struck home for the sea of red in the grandstands.. Charles Leclerc stood on the podium, the Tifosi beneath him, their voices carrying Leclerc’s win around the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in what felt more like a homecoming than a celebration.
Before Leclerc’s famed win in Spa and Monza, he was accepted by Ferrari, but tentatively. After the wins, he was embraced wholeheartedly, with the hopes of the prancing horse's future quickly being placed on the shoulders of the man they now deemed their future champion.
Several well-known figures praised the Monégasque, including Pietro Ferrari, who said, "The clear way in which Leclerc sees things and digests his experiences brings to mind Niki Lauda at his very best." The parallels to previous racing greats were becoming commonplace.
More Than Just a Nickname
Il Predestinato was representative of not just the faith the Tifosi continue to have in Charles Leclerc, but the faith he has in Ferrari. Although he’s not Italian, he’s seen as one of their own. He’s fluent in the language and his background has been entwined with the prancing horses since his childhood.
His godfather, Jules Bianchi, was seen as the driver who was being prepared for the Ferrari seat until he passed after a racing incident in 2015. His involvement in Leclerc’s career was paramount for the junior to be picked up by the academy.
Beyond his shared dream with Bianchi, Leclerc has grown up surrounded by the dream of Formula One in red. Growing up in the home of the Monaco Grand Prix, racing was inescapable, as Leclerc’s walk to school was transformed into the crown jewel of F1.
It isn’t just the desire to win races and championships in Formula One, it's the need to do it with Ferrari. Charles Leclerc has stuck with the team through the difficult periods and through the near-championship win in 2022. Through strategy mishaps and what at times has felt like self-sabotage within the team.
Yet he rarely turns the knife on his own team. He shoulders mistake after mistake or the team's failure to take a step forward and he always, without delay, prioritises moving forward as a team. Because for Charles Leclerc and the Tifosi, their dream is the same.
Charles Leclerc is Ferrari, and in turn, Ferrari has turned Leclerc into their ‘Il Predestinato’, the golden boy on whom their future hopes hang.
