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Before the Canadian Grand Prix weekend started, Charles Leclerc had revealed that he will be wearing a special, one-off designed helmet, in tribute to former Ferrari driver, Gilles Villeneuve. The track of the Canadian GP has been named in his honour as well.
However, it was later revealed that Villeneuve's family hasn't been so amazed at the Monegasque driver wearing that helmet with the Ferrari logo and all that sponsors and asked him not to wear it during the race weekend. While this was a disappointment to Leclerc in the first place, the fans seem to take it more personally.
It is a running story amongst Formula 1 fans that Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion and Gilles' son, has 'something against Charles Leclerc.' It is said that he holds a grudge against the Ferrari driver for no apparent reason, and following the same, he did not allow him to wear the helmet in tribute to his father. Interestingly, Villeneuve's family mentioned that they did not like the Ferrari logo and their sponsors (according to Ted Kravitz) on the helmet, Gilles Villeneuve himself raced for Ferrari.
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As mentioned, fans took it personally and Twitter was filled with a lot of rageful Leclerc supporters trying to get it out with Jacques Villeneuve. Here are some of the best Tweets.
"Jacques Villeneuve got the attention he wanted, then 🙄
"Jacques Villeneuve should learn from Mick Schumacher. Look at his face shining from happiness over the fact that Esteban is paying tribute to his father Michael Schumacher."
"Jacques Villeneuve hope you see this in your dreams every night."
Charles Leclerc cleared to use the Gilles Villeneuve tribute helmet at the Canadian Grand Prix
After Ted Kravitz announced that the Villeneuve family did not want Charles Leclerc to wear the tribute helmet to Gilles Villeneuve, there was a meeting between the family and Leclerc himself, to sort out the issue. As the news came later on, the family has now cleared and allowed the Monegasque to wear the helmet for the Canadian Grand Prix.
However, Jacques Villeneuve did not leave the opportunity to express the 'surprise' he felt upon Leclerc not consulting with the family before using the helmet. PlanetF1 quoted him,
"It was just a big surprise to see the helmet yesterday because nobody had called the family. It’s mainly my mother and my sister involved in that. So that was just a big shock."
Charles Leclerc, P11 qualifier for the Grand Prix (who will now be starting P10 after Carlo Sainz's penalty saw him drop to P11), will be wearing the special helmet during the race. While there may have been some issues, it seems to have cleared up now.
