Charles, Off the Track
Charles Leclerc’s Relaxation Routine: Coldplay, Piano, & Chivas Regal
The Ferrari driver recently teamed up with Scotch brand Chivas Regal to highlight his off-track passions — and host a pop-up piano bar
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Racing isn’t Charles Leclerc only talent. Besides being half of Formula One’s most successful team, Scuderia Ferrari, the Monégasque racer is also a pianist, composer, aspiring surfer, and model.
Ahead of the new F1 season, Leclerc teamed up with blended Scotch whisky label Chivas Regal to highlight his off-track passions. The partnership was celebrated at “Leclerc’s,” an invite-only pop-up club in Melbourne, where Leclerc chatted about the partnership, opened up about his time outside of the Ferrari cockpit, and, of course, served plenty of Chivas Regal 18’.
Chivas Regal 18
The values he shares with Chivas, Leclerc tells Rolling Stone, are what made the partnership an obvious choice. “The value of time, of paying attention to the small details, and the passion that is put into making the perfect blend as well, is something that really struck me when I went to the Strathisla distillery in Scotland,” says the 27-year-old. “To see so much passion within this distillery, and just the values that we are sharing together was very, very important to me.”
In a video announcing his ambassadorship with Chivas, Leclerc is seen playing piano and unwinding with a dram. “We had a piano on set, which, straight away, helped me to disconnect, which is just the way I use piano,” says Leclerc. “I use piano to disconnect from what is a very fast life, traveling from one place to the other. [So] I think that was really cool, because then the content that you see is actually very genuine and very natural.”
Since picking up piano over Covid, Leclerc has already started releasing his music, including an EP with French pianist Sofiane Pamart. I enjoyed [the collaboration with Pamart] so so much. It’s very important that there’s an actual connection with the other artist because as a sportsman, it’s all about not opening up to your opponents, because otherwise, that gives an edge,” he says. “In music, I would say, it’s a bit the opposite. It’s about opening up to people for them to actually understand you as a person.”
Leclerc says he’s always been drawn to piano for its melancholic quality. “If I want to feel calm, then I’ll listen to melancholic music, which is probably my favorite type of music,” he says. “I’m a very happy person, but I just like listening to melancholic songs.”
So what does Leclerc listen to when he’s calming down after a race? “‘Would’ve Have Been You’ from Sombr, ‘Golden Gate’ from RYOPI,” he says, reading his recent songs off his phone. “Coldplay — Coldplay is always some of my songs that I listen to very often — The Strokes, the Kooks, a bit of everything.”
Unsurprisingly, Leclerc says his headphones are his must-have when traveling during the F1 season. He uses the podium-worth, high-end Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100 headphones; check them out below.