Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will be sporting a special Gilles Villeneuve-inspired helmet this weekend, honouring the Canadian Ferrari driver, who tragically lost his life in 1982.
It was at the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix where Villeneuve won his first race for Ferrari, at the track that would later be renamed after him following his tragic death at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.
“Gilles Villeneuve, he was such an incredible driver,” Leclerc says in a social media video revealing the striking black and red design.
“So much passion he had for Ferrari, you could see straight away when he was going out on track. This is my special helmet for the weekend, it’s inspired by the design Gilles used to have.”
Last May, Leclerc drove Villeneuve’s 1979 Ferrari 312T4 at Fiorano, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Canadian’s accident at Zolder.
After that run, Leclerc said: “It was very special, I mean the experience was amazing. The cars were very different back then.
“As soon as I got into the car you can really feel that the safety that we have now is just incredible, and back then to push so much those cars with so little safety, you have to be quite mentally strong.
“It was nice and very playful also as a car, so it was cool.”
The helmet design for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend is another instance of the five-time Grand Prix winner honouring the legendary Ferrari driver, who took six race victories in his career, all of them with the Italian team.
