The red car, even before I knew it was called Ferrari, was my obsession.
Charles Leclerc
Being honest with myself is something I like. I am happy that I don't make excuses when I make a mistake. This is a good way to improve in the fastest way.
You cannot deliver to your maximum if you're thinking 'if I do an error, it might close a door to somewhere' or whatever.
Twitch is something I never thought I'd enjoy and I never saw myself doing. But actually I really enjoyed it. For the people that follow me, I think it's the closest you can get to the real me.
In Formula One nothing is easy, but I can feel I'm taking the right steps, that I'm working in the proper way.
I think I am my own biggest critic, yeah.
I believe what matters are facts and behaviours in our daily life rather than formal gestures.
Unfortunately I lost my father quite early, it changes you. It changes you forever.
I haven't got any friends on the track when I have my helmet on but whenever I take it off, I am a normal person at the end.
That first victory, before you get to it, it always seems so far ahead. You're not sure whether you can make it or not. Once you do, obviously it's a relief, but it also helps you to then deal better once you are in the lead of a race.
I wake up in the morning thinking about victory, I go to sleep thinking about victory, so sometimes it might be hard. But I need to control myself more and, how can I say it politely? Just shut up instead of speaking on the radio.
We are in F1 and we want to fight against the best.
To be completely honest, I am obsessed with Formula 1 so in the off-season I would like to have just a few more races to still race in F1.
F1 weekends are full of things and any time that you have five minutes, you need to use it as well as possible to calm down.
Out of the car I am normal, calm. In the car I want to give my best. It is passion, when you are passionate about something you give everything. I change quite a lot when I am in the car.
All simulators are going to be different compared to reality, that's how I see it.
F1 always feels unreal until you arrive and get your first seat.
Nobody believes me, but to be honest the pressure is not something that I feel.
Every time a young driver comes into F1, the finger's pointed at him over his age. I don't think that's right.
I'm not someone that always feels confident about himself.
Of course, the cars are getting safer and safer but, when you are going at 340km/h, it can never be safe. This I knew from the start.
Experience is always a plus, but I believe if you are good enough for an F1 seat, you are good enough from the year you arrive in F1.
What I have always liked about Italians is the way they are serious when they need to be but know how to relax and have a laugh, too.
Somehow when I am at the racetrack, I don't really realise what is happening and I just focus on the job.
Certainly driving a Ferrari is, at the same time, a dream come true, a huge responsibility and a great honor.
With less and less races people will want to take more risks.
I think we always need to see the positive.
You should be judged on your performances, not how long you've been around.
At a track, it's different, there's pressure, things like this, so to be yourself is a bit different.
At first, when I arrived at Ferrari, I was very intimidated by all the people there, by Ferrari itsel. This name is the biggest in motorsports.
My mental strength was definitely a weakness back in the karting days, and I've worked hard on that to be as ready as possible for whenever I had the chance in F1.
Since I was a child I've been looking up to Formula One. Dreaming to be a Formula One driver.
From the beginning when you go into this sport, you know how dangerous it is. It will never be a safe sport.
My dream as a child was being a world champion.
When I think about it, it is quite crazy to race against people like Fernando Alonso, when I remember watching him from the balcony in Monaco.
It will always remain a dangerous sport.
From GP3 to Formula 2, it's obviously a step, but it's only a step on driving I would say. Here from Formula 2 to Formula 1, it's a huge step on driving because we have nearly 400 BHP more, with a lot more downforce. So it's a completely different car.
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit has a special place in my heart.
There will always be some corners which are challenging and more dangerous than others.
I did not expect to have, at the end of my first season, seven poles and two wins. This is crazy. I did not expect it.
We need to keep working very hard.
The moment I prefer is the moment I put on the helmet, that everyone is leaving the pit lane, that I'm alone with the car and there it feels good. You don't have any feelings anymore; it's just racing and this I enjoy.
Before arriving at Ferrari, I had no idea how important it is for a Formula 1 team to be successful to have a successful relationship with their fuel and lubricants partner.
Anyone who has the chance to drive for Ferrari will drive for Ferrari.
It is vitally important for me to concentrate on myself, on the work that I have to do on the track and off it with the engineers, without really thinking about what people are expecting from me on the outside.
Jules Bianchi was my racing godfather, and he spoke a lot to Ferrari about me.
At the beginning, I didn't want to arrive at a big team like Ferrari and say: 'Ok, I want the car like this' - I just wanted to try and adapt to the car and then see if I wanted to make some changes.
As soon as I signed with Ferrari it was clear to me that people expected big performances from me. Even though people were realistic enough to see that I was only starting my second season and that I still had a lot to learn.
Formula 1 is such a big jump from Formula 2, and there are so many new things that you need to learn.
My father, well he helped me with everything. From the start he was my biggest supporter and taught me a lot about his experience as a driver.
