Charles Leclerc said \u201cone of the most difficult things\u201d in F1 was dealing with the chaos on the grid in the minutes leading up to a race.<\/p>\n
While other athletes are often kept away from fans in the moments preceding their match, F1 drivers are on display pretty much from the moment they arrive in the paddock and the grid is the time when they are most under the microscope.<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc talks pre-race grid difficulty<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Drivers can be confronted with TV cameras and celebrities just minutes before they are strapped in and heading to the first corner and Leclerc has suggested that can be \u201cone of the most difficult things\u201d to deal with.<\/p>\n F1 2026: The season\u2019s winners and losers<\/p>\n The results of the F1 2026 championship <\/a><\/p>\n The F1 2026 Drivers\u2019 and Constructors\u2019 Championship standings<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTo enter the grid, I think that\u2019s one of the most difficult things in our sport,\u201d he told the BSMT podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do two or three laps to go to the grid, then we stop on the grid, we get out of the car. We have, I think, about 20 minutes more or less to get out of the car, talk to the engineers, do the last brief, and then get back in the car.<\/p>\n \u201cIn those minutes on the grid, there are thousands of people, obviously there are sponsors, sometimes there are some fans that ask you for photos and to talk. But in that moment, for me, it\u2019s full of all the information I need to have for the whole race. So it\u2019s fundamental for me to stay in my own bubble, and that\u2019s the hardest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n That kind of interest is something only the drivers at the top of their series experience and Leclerc, who is in his ninth F1 season, admitted he had to change his approach once he graduated from F2.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to change my approach from Formula 2 to Formula 1,\u201d the eight-time race winner said. \u201cIn Formula 2 nobody knows you. You did your whole career quietly, you got into the car and that was it.<\/p>\n \u201cThen you arrive in Formula 1 and there are hundreds of thousands of people around. That was very difficult to manage in the first races, then you adapt to everything, but this is something particularly difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d say about 30 minutes before getting into the car to do the two or three laps that take you to the grid. I have a routine that I practically always do, more or less the same, with a cold shower, physical warm-up, etc.<\/p>\n \u201cBy always doing the same things, it helps me to reset and get back to the same mental state I need to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n Read next: Michael Schumacher \u2018did not know how to cheat\u2019, but did it \u2018badly\u2019 \u2013 Jean Todt<\/a><\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n