Leclerc revealed his special helmet design on social media on Friday, but he hadn’t told the Villeneuve family what he was planning to do.
While the gesture was obviously intended to honour one of his predecessors at Ferrari the helmet design is trademarked, and thus there were potential issues around the Italian team’s current sponsors being associated with it.
Leclerc was alerted to the family’s position by Gilles’s son Jacques, who is present in the Montreal paddock as a TV pundit.
Villeneuve Sr’s image rights are controlled on behalf of the family by Jacques’s sister Melanie, and Leclerc called her on Friday evening to apologise for not alerting the family in advance.
Melanie and her mother Joann were invited to be guests of Ferrari in Montreal on Saturday and they have agreed to let Leclerc use the helmet, which he has only done so far in the short-lived FP1 session.
“Charles was very sweet about it,” Melanie told Autosport. “We have no objections. It’s a nice tribute.”
Jacques stressed that the family was disappointed not to have been consulted in advance.
Source: Autosport