The Only Exception

charles: the deployment was so different

max [laughing]: at the start...

charles (about the contact between him and oscar): this one was...

max: was calculated

Final lap of Sunday's race. You are leading, you arrive at Raidillon, and there is the silhouette of another car alongside you. Who would you like to be fighting, and who would you like to have next to you in that corner?

🆑: Anyone. But honestly, I enjoy racing against Max because I know he never gives up, and neither do I. Then we'll see what happens. But that's the beauty of racing. That's what I like, what makes me excited — at least when I get out of the car afterwards, because inside the car there isn't really room to feel those emotions. Although sometimes you do feel the shivers when you achieve something special. But yes, I like racing against Max because I know that neither of us will give up.

You two have known each other since you were very young. Your relationship has changed, hasn't it? Because there are videos circulating on social media showing that you were already rivals as kids. He doesn't have friends — I don't think there are any friends on track.

🆑: Definitely not. When the visor comes down, there is no friendship anymore. But yes, our relationship has changed. We have grown up, and we are much more mature. Life has changed a lot since we started racing. When you are young, you experience everything at a thousand percent, and because of what happened on track, I was convinced that he was a bad person, and he thought the same about me. That's just how it was. But as you grow older, you understand that people are different beyond what happens on track. So our relationship has changed.

And yet, nobody really wants him as a teammate. Obviously, we're not talking about now, but hypothetically speaking — would you like to have someone like him as your teammate, or would he be too overwhelming to have alongside you?

🆑: Well, he is an exceptional driver who has won four world championships. But luckily for me — and I've always said this, I think it's a great fortune of mine — I've had the opportunity to have teammates who have always been extremely strong, with Lewis, with Seb, with Carlos. So no, I'm not afraid of that. And if one day it were to happen, it would also be a beautiful story, because we started together in 2010, we went through all the karting categories together. So why not?

Well, he would have to come to Ferrari then, because you have a long-term contract with Ferrari.

IC: Last lap of the race on sunday, you're leading, coming to Raidillon, there's the silhouette of a car next to you, who would you like to challange or not in that turn?

CL: Well, anyone. But honestly, I like to compete with Max. Because I know he doesn't let up, and neither do I. And then we see what happens! But that's the beauty of racing, it's what I like, what excites me. At least when I get out of the car afterward because there's no space for that inside the car. Even though at times you can get chills when you do something special. But, yes, I like to race with Max because I know neither of us lets up. DC: Ever since you were young... Has your relationship changed? Because, as you know, on social media there are clips of you two as kids being rivals. He doesn't have friends, there are no friends on track.

C’est sans doute la rencontre d’une vie ! Des couples « patron-pilote », il y en a eu des fameux à travers les âges, comme Jim Clark-Colin Chapman, Piers Courage-Frank Williams, Jackie Stewart-Ken Tyrrell, Gilles Villeneuve-Enzo Ferrari ou Michael Schumacher-Jean Todt à un degré moindre, mais rien qui ne semble s’approcher toutefois des liens qui unissent Charles Leclerc et Frédéric Vasseur. Le pilote et le manager sont en symbiose totale. C’est de l’ordre de l’organique entre le Français et son protégé monégasque, rencontré sur une piste de kart il y a une quinzaine d’années. Peut-être à Angerville le 20 juin 2010 lors du Grand Prix Open remporté par Charles, qui avait alors une douzaine d’années. « Mais l’histoire a vraiment commencé chez Birel-ART, indique Vasseur. Il y a un certain nombre de pilotes dont j’ai été très proche, mais rien qui ne s’approche de l’attachement viscéral que j’ai pour Charles. Nous n’avons pas toujours besoin de nous parler. On se regarde et on se comprend. Avec Lewis (Hamilton), c’est un peu différent. Il a un profond rapport de confiance. Je sais que je peux avoir confiance en lui, il sait qu’il peut avoir confiance en moi. On s’est connus il y a 20 ans, mais je n’ai pas la complicité que j’ai avec Charles. J’ai un rapport avec lui qui dépasse le cadre professionnel. » Un rapport qui s’est construit chez ART au cours de la saison 2016 de GP3, remportée par le natif de Monte Carlo, et s’est solidifié chez Sauber à compter de 2017, où Charles officie alors en qualité de pilote d’essais. C’est encore sous la houlette de Vasseur qu’il effectue ses grands débuts en Formule ١ l’année suivante, toujours à Hinwil. Depuis, ils ne se sont plus quittés. Entre Leclerc et Vasseur, c’est une histoire de famille, presque une évidence.

And my English translation: His pair of aces

Soo he has a whole chapter where he speaks about fred lmao. this part was funny to me bc they're like a married couple, the rest under the break

"Fred is one of the finest and most rewarding encounters of my life! We disagree on nothing, except on when we first met. He cites a karting event in Angerville when I was very young, which I have no memory of. I do remember a race, but not meeting him there.