Gilles Villeneuve's daughter in "state of anger" over Charles Leclerc incident

18 June 2023 , 16:42

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Charles Leclerc has paid a helmet tribute to Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend (Image: AP)

Jacques Villeneuve said his family received "no communication" from Ferrari about the helmet used by Charles Leclerc as a tribute to his legendary father Gilles at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Formula 1 circus is in Montreal this weekend at the temporary Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It bears the name of the legendary Canadian racer who spent almost all his F1 career racing for Ferrari.

And his old team wanted to mark the occasion this weekend. A few days ago, Ferrari announced Leclerc would be wearing a race helmet in the design of Villeneuve's to honour the late racer.

Notably, though, it was missing in final practice on Saturday. Leclerc had reverted back to his old helmet as speculation filtered into the paddock that the Villeneuve family had raised a concern.

This has since been resolved and Leclerc is able to use the helmet again. But Villeneuve's son Jacques, himself a former racer who won the 1997 world title, appeared unimpressed with Ferrari in a statement released on social media.

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He wrote: "To clarify the situation regarding the recent incident where some individuals felt the need to insult me and my family over Charles Leclerc using my dad's helmet, I want to provide some context. As I was arriving at the track, my sister called me in a state of anger.

"She had seen Charles using our dad's helmet without any prior knowledge or communication about it. The entire family was taken by surprise, as we had not been informed beforehand. I immediately conveyed the message to Charles, who was kind enough to give me a call.

"We had a heartfelt conversation where he sincerely apologised for the situation. I reassured him that I considered it a touching tribute and that I personally had no issues with it. However, I stressed the importance of him reaching out to my sister, as she is the one responsible for managing everything related to our dad."

The 52-year-old went on to clarify that the situation has now been resolved. But he ended his statement with a warning to Ferrari to check properly the next time they want to make such a tribute.

Villeneuve added: "I also suggested that he invite both my sister and mother to the track to address any remaining concerns. Fortunately, everything eventually worked out.

"But it would have been preferable for these discussions and arrangements to take place before the weekend in a respectful and professional manner. Unfortunately, the incident was blown out of proportion, turning it into an unnecessary controversy."

Daniel Moxon