Formula 1 mourns the passing of a superfan. It's been a sad few days for motorsport following the passings of Murray Walker and Sabine Schmitz, but F1's fan community was also hit hard on Wednesday with the news that its most impassioned member, Charaf Eddin, had succumbed to cancer at 38.
Charaf Eddin and Michael Schumacher.
Of French origin, Charaf became blind around the age of 20, roughly around the time Michael Schumacher broke both his legs in a crash at the 1999 British GP at Silverstone, but the unfortunate hardship never dampened his enthusiasm and passion for Formula 1.
Inspired by Schumacher's recovery and return to the driver's seat, Charaf soon became a cult figure among the F1 paddock thanks to his abundant love for the sport. He has traveled the world to participate in Grand Prix races and meet his F1 idols.
Everyone knew him; drivers, mechanics, journalists. He was always in the paddock, a constant presence that we were fond of.
Charaf and Pierre Gasly.
On his official social profiles Charaf-Eddin, despite being blind, never lost a Grand Prix and loved being photographed with his idols, anywhere and anytime. All the protagonists of Formula 1 have been immortalized with him at least once on his accounts.
The French fan had Michael Schumacher as his main idol but followed everyone, almost indistinctly.
A familiar figure in the paddock who had befriended many, Charaf would head out and stand trackside on Grand Prix weekends and instinctively follow the action, having memorized every corner of every track visited by F1. “When I watch Formula 1 I completely forget that I am blind because I know all the corners. It’s like I’m seeing. F1 is my world," he explained on the official F1 website. "On Grand Prix weeks, I close my office on Thursdays at noon to watch the press conference and I only open it the following Mondays”, laughed the enthusiast, whose Twitter profile is full of pictures where we see him posing with the stars of the discipline (Hamilton, Ricciardo, Sainz, Rosberg, Ocon, Kubica…).
A physiotherapist in the Paris region by trade, Charaf became a presence around the F1 paddock in the years to come, frequently invited to join teams at events.
The emotional highlight of the visually-impaired superfan's experience in F1 came when he was offered - much to his astonishment - the surprise ride of his life onboard F1's two-seater at the Spanish GP at Barcelona in 2018. Taken by the official cameras, as the car traveled the track, Charaf-Eddin anticipated every corner, every braking and every acceleration.
Charaf's brother confirmed in a statement that the beloved superfan had passed away after a battle with cancer. “It’s with my deepest sorrow that I have to inform you of the death of my beloved brother Charaf,” a statement read. “As you may know, he was fighting against a cancer. He passed away surrounded by loved ones. Thank you to all people who showed support and love to him during his last fight.”
Charaf's passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from F1 drivers past and present, with Australian star Daniel Ricciardo among them.
Ricciardo shared a picture of the pair together from his days at Red Bull Racing, describing Charaf as a 'bright light'. "Charaf sadly passed on the weekend. Loved when he was at the track, laughing and joking about something, mainly my terrible French," the Australian wrote. "I’ll remember him for just getting on with it with a smile regardless of the cards he was dealt through his life. Thank you for being a bright light."
Nico Rosberg also was among those who took to social media to recall their friend Charaf. “One of the most passionate fans of our sport I ever met! You will be so missed! I watched the You Tube piece of you getting a ride in the 2-seater F1 car. It made me so happy to see your joy. Another reminder of the importance to enjoy the moment and special experiences”.
On Wednesday evening, Charles Leclerc saluted the memory of Charaf-Eddin Ait-Tales, “Charaf was such an amazing person. You always had a huge smile on your face every time we spoke together. Always so positive and always using the right words whenever I was feeling down. I’ll miss you and the whole paddock will miss you.
Rest in peace my friend”, Charles wrote on Twitter about the former player of the France blind football team.
On the race weekend in Bahrain, Leclerc also wanted to do a lovely tribute on his helmet to a much-missed member of the F1 family, concluding: “Charaf Eddin, who was blind, was a huge F1 fan and made an enormous impact on all of us. Rest in peace, Charaf”.
Charaf hoped to at least go one more time to a race this year, but we see now that wish is denied. F1 has just lost its biggest fan. He seemed like such a happy guy who just loved F1 and, even though he went blind, he never lost his passion and he had such a positive outlook looking up to people like Michael coming back from injury.
Charaf thanking, after his lap, with a very long and touching hug.
When he got a ride in that two seater F1 car he was like a child at Christmas. He couldn't see it but boy could he feel it, he knew every corner off by heart without having to see it and then cried with joy when it was over.
A special fan who teaches us what the passion for Formula 1 really means, a protagonist by right of the circus. A confirmation that the combination of blind people with motorsport was a winning bet for our club, between almost general skepticism. We are sure that in the world there may be other Charafs, in possession of a pure love for racing in a world now driven by economic interests alone, a love so great that can even be experienced not being able to see the races, simply by imagining them with the mind, building them on information rendered by the other senses. Charaf has given us a lot and the message he left us will survive him. Formula 1 needs fans like this.
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