Charles Leclerc is already known as a driver who is very critical of himself. It is not nice for anyone to read or hear criticism about themselves and social media does not help at all. People express themselves more often on social media than in real life and give their candid opinions about performance on the job, but it can also be about personal matters. However, Leclerc is now revealing what he finds most difficult to read or hear from fans.
Some riders receive more criticism than others, some are also more popular than others and that partly has to do with it. On social media, many fans feel ‘free’ to say whatever they want, without thinking about the influence words can have. It can of course be positive or negative, but many often choose the negative side when they want to say something about a certain rider or team on social media.
Leclerc is also not spared, he also has to deal with criticism from time to time and that is sometimes hard.
“What hurts me most are the critics who don’t look at me as a person,” says Leclerc. “You get criticism from people who hardly know you or are not really aware of the sport, what it demands of you, what you have to do and also have to give up. I can accept it more easily from the real fans who are well informed about how our sport works, and they are often right.”
“A few years ago someone said that I was arrogant, that really hurts and you don’t quickly forget such a comment. Such a comment comes from someone who doesn’t know me, I just know that I’m not like that.”
“Especially at the beginning of my career in F1, I had to get used to it, then you suddenly find yourself in the spotlight much more than in the lower racing classes. If you make a mistake there, hardly anyone talks about it. Your team boss says something about it and your parents say it wasn’t good, that’s what it usually was, it wasn’t magnified.”
“When you end up in the F1 world, you are suddenly much more in the spotlight, everything you do is closely followed. If you make a mistake, hundreds of people will have something to say about it, so I made the mistake in the beginning of reading all those messages. It was so new that I was somehow interested in it, but I mainly had to get used to it.”
“It has taught me that only the opinions of people who appreciate you matter, who continue to love you despite the occasional mistake you make. So it was difficult in the beginning, but you learn to deal with it, and that is ultimately the most important thing that you learn,” concludes Leclerc.
Written by Vincent Bogaerts