3 Things You Didn’t Know About Charles Leclerc

He once crashed Niki Lauda’s car

Leclerc, like most F1 drivers, is no stranger to crashing his car. While it certainly is painful when it happens, both physically and mentally, crashing is par for the course when it comes to any motorsport. But there is something even more painful about crashing an iconic F1 car driven by a star of the sport, and doing so in your own backyard.

During the 2022 Monaco Historic Grand Prix, held on his home track, Leclerc got behind the wheel of the Ferrari 312B, the car famously driven by three-time Drivers’ Champion Niki Lauda during his debut season with Ferrari in 1974. Things started well for Leclerc, with the first two laps around the Circuit de Monaco going smoothly, but the Monegasque driver is known for being plagued with bad luck during home races, and it seems like this curse applies to exhibition events too. On his third lap, he had issues with the brake pedals and lost control of the car, ending up in the barrier and damaging the rear wing.

Leclerc took it on the chin though, later posting on Twitter about the incident to say, “When you thought you already had all the bad luck of the world in Monaco and you lose the brakes into rascasse with one of the most iconic historical Ferrari Formula 1 car.”

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He finally turned a fashion dream into reality in 2025

Leclerc is a man of multitudes, and while he dreams of one day being the F1 Drivers’ Champion, that is not the only thing he has on his bucket list. Among the many passions and side-hustles he has is a love for clothing and fashion, and for many years Leclerc dabbled in it while hoping one day to release his own clothing line.

Back in 2020, he told F1 pundit Lawrence Baretto, “I really like clothes design. It’s definitely the creative element that inspires me.” 

He also spoke about Lewis Hamilton (before the two were ever teammates), saying “I have spoken to Lewis very briefly [about fashion], congratulated him for his new collection. He’s doing a great job with the brand, and I quite like what he’s doing. It’s definitely something I’d like to do further down the road.”

Well, ‘further down the road’ came five years later, in 2025, with the release of Leclerc’s very own apparel line, CL16. 

“I wanted to create something that felt personal, for the people who have supported me from the start,” he said during the launch of the clothing line. “CL16 is about pieces that reflect my own sense of style: timeless, understated and made to last. It’s about creating something genuine, designed with care and meant to be lived in.”

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The 99th polesitter at F1’s 999th race 

Debuting for Ferrari in 2019, Leclerc wasted no time in showing that he deserved to be there. At that year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, just the second race of the season, he put the SF90 on pole. And not only was this the maiden pole of his career, at 21 years and 72 days old, it also emblazoned him in Ferrari history as the team’s youngest ever pole sitter. 

To this day, Leclerc is the third youngest F1 driver to take the top spot of the grid overall, behind only his then-teammate Sebastian Vettel, who was just three months younger when he secured pole for Toro Rosso in 2008 at Monza, and Kimi Antonelli, who smashed the record with his very own maiden pole this year in China for Mercedes at 19 years and 202 days.

But Leclerc’s 2019 Qualifying in Bahrain also holds another peculiar statistic. In getting his maiden pole, he became the 99th different driver to start from P1. And he did it at the 999th race in F1 history. 

“I didn’t have any expectations,” Leclerc said on joining Ferrari during a post-Qualifying interview. “I was completely aware of how much of a big step there is team-wise and competition-wise and of the drivers I’m now fighting with, the best.”

Want more surprising facts about this year’s F1 drivers and race tracks? Sign up for our newsletter for a bonus fact about Leclerc19 years , and be sure to check out our other Speed Reads:

Want more surprising facts about this year’s F1 drivers and race tracks? Sign up for our newsletter for a bonus fact about Leclerc, and be sure to check out our other Speed Reads:

• 3 Things You Didn’t Know About the Austrian Grand Prix 
• 3 Things You Didn’t Know About George Russell 

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Images via Ferrari Media Centre