Charles, Jules and the invisible string
© Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
Life has a way of weaving invisible connections that unite people across time and space. For Charles Leclerc, the Monaco Grand Prix is more than just a race; it's a tribute to lost loved ones and unfulfilled dreams.
For the full experience, read while listening to Build A Home by the Cinematic Orchestra and Patrick Watson.
Life is kind of magical sometimes. It's like everything is planned, like everything happens for a reason. In fact, there is this theory: The Invisible String. A theory that suggests that everyone has someone in their life who is connected to them by an unbreakable string that transcends time, distance and geography. This relationship is believed to be determined not by choice, but by fate.
On May 25th 2014, Jules Bianchi scored his first career points after finishing ninth in the Monaco Grand Prix. This was just five months before Jules would lose his life in a tragic incident during the Japanese Grand Prix. Five months before Charles Leclerc lost a godfather, a friend, his helping hand on the motorsport journey they had always shared.
A journey that had already taken them to the gates of Maranello, but unfortunately ended prematurely. In 2017, Charles Leclerc said goodbye to his dad with a white lie: "I have a contract with Ferrari". But he did not. Yet.
Charles managed to walk through the doors of Maranello soon after. He managed to fulfil his dream, Jules' dream and his promise to his father. It was as if he had always known that the path life had chosen for him was red. Over the years, Charles has proved himself worthy of a contract with a team he still declares his love for and refuses to leave, feeling it is his destiny to complete his ups and downs with Ferrari. But still he had something to prove to himself.
The Monaco GP, his home race, hadn’t treated him right until now. DNF, DNF, DNS, Fourth, Sixth due to a grid penalty. Coming home to the streets that saw him grow and made him fall in love with what he can now call his sport has never been easy since his arrival in Formula 1. You can see it in his eyes, that melancholic blue, the color of someone who has lived a lot, suffered a lot, and healed a lot. Monaco seemed like something pending in Charles’s life, a circle waiting to be closed.
May 26th 2024. Exactly ten years after Jules scored his first points in Monaco before losing his life on the track, Charles crossed the line first in Sunday's race. With tears in his eyes, Charles Leclerc wins for the first time at home. Standing on the podium, the weight of the moment sinks in. Everyone on the track and at home cheers this victory.
Charles sighs, gazing up at the sky in a sort of slow-motion moment. And it was in that very instant, that the invisible string that tied Charles and Jules together felt more tangible than ever.
