Charles Leclerc On His Return To Malaysia And Life Beyond F1

As Formula One returns to Sepang, Charles Leclerc gives us a glimpse into the person behind the Ferrari driver, from his love of music and fashion to family and his ambitions for the future.

“I’m really happy to be back here,” he tells BAZAAR. “It’s a track that I remember enjoying back in 2016 when I came here to drive in GP3.” Although the years away mean he will have to “relearn the track again”, there is still an unmistakable fondness for the circuit. “It’s a place that I like, so I’m looking forward to being back on track.”

That enthusiasm has been met with an equally warm reception. For Leclerc, one of the most striking parts of returning to Malaysia is seeing just how much the local racing community has grown since his last visit. “The last time I came here, I wasn’t even a Formula One driver yet, so things have changed quite a lot,” he says. “The support I get coming here now is very special.”

The conditions, too, offer their own challenge. With Malaysia’s heat and humidity, preparation becomes just as important as performance once the lights go out. “The preparation that we are doing for a track like this is hydration,” he explains. “Number one priority is probably the most important thing, and trying to get acclimated to the very big heat and humidity.”

For a driver whose calendar leaves little room for downtime, the physical demands of Formula One extend well beyond race day. Leclerc sees recovery as one of the most important parts of maintaining his performance throughout the season. Fitness, he explains, is something he can push harder during the off-season, when he has more time to focus on his body. Once the racing begins, the priority shifts.

“From the first race to the last race, it’s all about recovery and making sure that I feel at my best whenever I get into the car,” he says. The same applies mentally. “You’ve got to have time where you reset, where you have time for yourself before getting to another race, in order to make sure that you are well rested and able to give your best.”

That need for time away from the demands of racing also extends to the things Leclerc enjoys outside the circuit. Music has an important place in his life, with the driver turning to the piano and other creative pursuits when he has the time. “I love playing the piano,” he says, explaining that music is one of the things he enjoys using to disconnect from the intensity of the racing calendar. He also describes himself as “very curious with music”, regularly listening to new releases and allowing his choice of music to reflect how he is feeling. That extends to his pre-race routine, where there is no single soundtrack. “It can be something more punchy if I feel a bit too relaxed, which is not very often the case,” he says. “Or, if I’m a bit too tense, then I’ll listen to more classical music to calm myself down.”

For Leclerc, that creative side also has a natural connection to racing. “I feel like racing itself is a creative act in some kind of way,” he says. “With overtaking, you’ve got to be creative in order to surprise your opponent.”

That instinct to create has also found its way into fashion. Outside of his racing uniform, Leclerc gravitates towards pieces that are understated, timeless and easy to return to. “I like pieces that are kind of understated, not too crazy and timeless,” he says. “Things that maybe I’ll look at in 15 or 20 years and that I don’t regret wearing.”

It is an approach that also informs CL16, the creative project he launched nearly a year ago. For Leclerc, the brand has become another way to explore a side of himself that exists beyond racing. “It’s been such a cool project and a different way of expressing my creativity,” he says. “I’ve always been very creative since I was a kid, and to be able to express it in something that connects my creativity with what I do for a living, which is to be a Formula One driver, has been a very, very cool project.”

He is particularly proud of the personal connection between the project and the community that has followed his career. “To be able to give the community that has been following me for such a long time something more personal, something that feels more like me and has been created by me, has been very cool,” he says.

As for his own CL16 essentials, Leclerc’s choices are unsurprisingly personal. “We’ve done a few bucket hats, which I quite like. I really like bucket hats, and I think that’s very me.” A hoodie makes the list too, particularly the knitwear, which he calls “probably my favourite”, followed by a baby blue T-shirt. “It’s my favourite colour.”

When he does find time away from the demands of the F1 calendar, however, it is the people closest to him who take priority. “Spending time with my wife, with Leo, with my family and my friends. This is probably the number one thing I try and do whenever I’ve got free time, because it’s not so often that we get it.” He also makes room for the things that keep him moving, from the gym and padel to outdoor activities, alongside music and the piano. It is a balance that he says comes naturally, shaped by the realities of a career where work inevitably dictates how much free time is available. “The balance is very natural in itself, because the priority remains all the on-track activity and whatever makes me better as a driver and what we can do better as a team,” he says. “Then, whatever is left, I spend it on the projects I enjoy.”

There is also a new chapter waiting beyond the racing calendar. Leclerc and his wife are expecting to become parents again towards the end of the year, something he describes simply as “very, very special”. “I’m just really looking forward to it,” he says. “We already have one son in Leo, because we already consider him as a son, and it will be great to become a parent for a second time.”

For all the different creative pursuits and personal milestones that have come to define his life away from the circuit, Leclerc remains clear about what he wants from his career. There is one goal he still has firmly in sight: “becoming a Formula One champion.” It is a straightforward ambition, but his idea of legacy is more nuanced. “What really matters to me, deep down, is not really what I will leave to others, but what I’ll leave Formula One knowing that I have done absolutely everything that was in my control to make sure that I reached my goals,” he says.

For now, that means continuing to pursue the same ambition with “passion and dedication”. And as he looks ahead to the next chapter of both his career and his life, there is one thing he hopes to have when it is all over: “What matters the most is that I end this career with no regrets, knowing that I have done absolutely everything to get to where I want to be.”