Charles Leclerc says the abundance of online competition during the current lockdown period has boosted the friendships between drivers that have been drifted in recent years.
Leclerc has been heavily involved in sim racing since on-track action was paused in mid-March, taking part in several competitions, including Formula 1’s Virtual grands prix.
Leclerc has also regularly raced with other Formula 1 drivers, most notably Alexander Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris, Antonio Giovinazzi and Nicholas Latifi.
Their exploits have regularly been streamed on their respective Twitch channels.
Leclerc, Albon and Russell all raced in Formula 3 in 2015 before their paths diverged en route to Formula 1.
Leclerc and Albon were GP3 team-mates in 2016, while Russell remained in Formula 3, while a year later Russell claimed the GP3 title, Leclerc the Formula 2 crown, with Albon also competing in Formula 2.
Leclerc made his Formula 1 debut in 2018 and was succeeded as Formula 2 champion by Russell, in a year in which Albon emerged as a title challenger.
Russell and Albon both stepped up to Formula 1 in 2019, along with Norris and Giovinazzi, while Latifi is set to make his debut in the championship this year.
“It’s not the same thing as reality for sure, and it will never be exactly the same thing as reality,” Leclerc said regarding online racing.
“For now in a situation like this it is the closest we can get, and we are all having fun.
“I think this situation also made George, myself and Alex, we probably lost a little bit of contact in terms of speaking to each other over the years with the different categories we were doing.
“In a situation like that it’s great to find each other again and to have fun all together racing and doing what we like, so it’s great.”
Leclerc had won his first two virtual Formula 1 races but had to settle for a penalised third at Interlagos on Sunday, following a race-long battle with Albon.
“I was shaking and sweating after crossing the line as I had so much adrenaline in my body,” said Albon on his win.
“Once Charles and I had built a gap we started to fight and it was really good fun, I enjoyed it a lot and ultimately, we had the best strategy. It was nice to get the adrenaline going and feel the pressure slightly – it’s something we miss from the race weekends.”
