Leclerc 'enhancing Ferrari myth', like Villeneuve - Binotto

Charles Leclerc shares with the late Gilles Villeneuve the ability to draw passion from F1 fans and to enhance the myth of Ferrari says Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto.

Leclerc joined the House of Maranello in 2016 as a member of Ferrari's Driver Academy. His success in motorsport's junior formulae ensured his graduation to F1 in 2018 with Sauber and a promotion to the Scuderia a year later.

Leclerc clinched his first two career wins in F1 in 2019, with emotional back-to-back victories in Spa – a day after the tragic death of his friend Anthoine Hubert – and on Ferrari's home ground at Monza.

The Italian outfit's mediocre campaign in 2020 was followed by progress in 2021, but this year Leclerc has returned to the winner's circle and is a genuine contender for the title, battling head-to-head with Red Bull arch-rival Max Verstappen.

Leclerc's success has enamored him with the tifosi who see in the Monegasque a valiant and brave spirit and the long-awaited hero that will bring the title back to Maranello.

On the 40th anniversary last month of the passing of the great Gilles Villeneuve, the 24-year-old had an opportunity to drive the Canadian's Ferrari 312 T4, an occasion that encouraged Binotto to draw a parallel between his current driver and Ferrari's enduring legend.

• Read also: Leclerc saddles Villeneuve's Ferrari 312 T4 at Fiorano

"If I look at Charles, the way he is driving, his talent, and more than that, it’s the passion, the passion of the fans for him," Binotto said, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"Being [part of] Ferrari is somehow trying to enhance the myth of the cavallino [Ferrari’s prancing horse]. There are only few drivers which are capable of doing that, and I think Charles is one of these, as was Gilles.

"Gilles was fantastic. Gilles won only six races but remains for all the tifosi and the cavallino the driver. It really was his way of driving, his way of behaving. It's the passion he showed.

"And I think Charles has got that, and that's something which is great. We are passionate as well ourselves, and we hope that he will win more than six races."

While testing Villeneuve's 1979 race winning 312 T4 at Fiorano, Leclerc manhandled the period car but also exerted caution, knowing that the classic machine was nowhere near as robust as a modern F1 charger.

"If you look at the time and the cars they had, they were so dangerous," added Binotto.

"If you had an accident, you know what can be the consequence. And today the cars are very, very safe, I would say, compared to what it was, and that is thanks to all the effort FIA, F1 and the teams put into it.

"The drivers were really mad, because of the amount of risk they were simply accepting, and I think today it's certainly safer."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter