Leclerc staying grounded despite rapid rise

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11:18, 07 May 2019

Charles Leclerc has insisted he’s staying grounded despite his rapid rise to stardom following his move to Ferrari, admitting he’s not “overwhelmed by fans” just yet.

Leclerc has had a controversial start to life as a Scuderia driver, being the victim of team orders in Australia and China, an engine problem costing him a maiden win in Bahrain. Most recently the Monegasque crashed out in Q2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but came through the field to finish in P5.

Despite being front and centre in 2019, Leclerc is keeping his feet on the ground as his profile rises.

"Formula 1 is a strange sport because unless you get on the podium, people do not know your face,” he told Auto Motor Und Sport.

“Most often, they see us with a helmet, but since Bahrain, they can associate my face with my name.

"I'm not yet overwhelmed by fans, and I have to say that when I'm in Monaco, I stay at home most of the time in my simulator.

"I do not consider myself a superstar.

"I do not know what to expect, it's good if people already see me like that, but I'll give everything on the track anyway to be one of the big ones.”

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	115
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	106
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	73
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	70
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	55
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	37
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	32
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	28
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
12	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Leclerc staying grounded despite rapid rise

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