The CHOSEN ONE

Catching up with Ferrari's star driver Charles Leclerc at the Montreal Grand Prix

- JARED ZAUGG

At 116 miles per hour, it feels as if the Ferrari Purosangue has barely broken a gallop. Supremely stable, quiet and agile, there's so much power to be had from the 720 horses beneath the hood that this humble speed is a mere warm-up. I want to go faster, my passenger wants to go faster, even the car wants to go faster, but that's all I'll be able to achieve because this is Formula One weekend in Montreal and the traffic is brutal. I'm on my way to see one of the most important people in motorsport today, who races for one of the most important teams in the history of motorsport.

Confidently navigating the streets, highways and bridges of Montreal, out to the picturesque river island where the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve sits, this happens to be the first Purosangue in Canada and it's gorgeous to behold, finished in a rare combination of Celeste Metallizzato (sky blue) over Beige Honolulu (light sand).

As a result, everywhere I go there are paparazzi. From kids to dads to professional vloggers and photographers, the attention is nonstop. If they only knew about the added symbolism of this car.

Purosangue, literally translated, means pure blood, which is the Italian word for thoroughbred. And this racehorse is whisking me to the Fi paddock before the qualifying races to meet with none other than Charles Leclerc. Fresh off his historic hometown win in Monaco, Scuderia Ferrari's star driver is the man of the hour. Young (he turns 27 in October), handsome, famously polite and tremendously talented, he’s one of the most endearing top athletes in the world.