The quiet lap

Charles Leclerc is the kind of person that seems constantly in motion, whether he’s racing, playing padel, piano, or chess, or dreaming up his next idea. And yet, the skill he has spent a lifetime learning isn’t how to go faster. It’s how to switch off.

Ask Charles Leclerc what goes through his mind when he slips into bed, and the answer may surprise you. Despite being a driver chasing a world championship across continents, it is rarely only racing.

“I’ve raced since I was three and a half years old, and I’ve spent many of my nights thinking about racing and racing only,” he says. “But I’m also very creative. I get obsessed with things very quickly, with new passions. One week it will be padel, the other week it will be music and piano.”

New curiosities arrive almost weekly. Some are tied to the car. Most are not.