Off the back of his maiden Formula 2 podium finish in Melbourne, DAMSArthur Leclerc will be enjoying some time off from racing before Round 4 gets underway in Baku at the end of the month.

We sat down with the Ferrari Academy junior to find out what makes him who he is today. From flight hijinks with a former teammate to sightseeing in London, we got the lowdown to help you get to know the Monégasque rookie even better.

WHERE DO YOU CONSIDER HOME?

“Monaco - it’s great because obviously I have all my friends and family there. It’s magic because there is a Grand Prix there every year. Since I was a child, I have been going with my parents and my brothers to watch it. It’s an amazing city, really small but really good.”

OUTSIDE OF MOTORSPORT, WHICH SPORTSPERSON DO YOU ADMIRE?

“To be honest, I don’t know!”

WHO ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH ON THE GRID?

“I’m friends with quite a lot of people, such as my old teammates Ollie (Bearman), Dennis (Hauger) and Jak Crawford, and Clém (Novalak). Motorsports is a really small world, so it’s really easy to get to know and get along with everyone.”

default image

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHEAT MEAL?

“I really like pasta, especially ragu. In Italy it’s the best!”

IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO ANY MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

“I think I would go back to when I started motorsports because now, I have a bit more experience. I wish I could’ve started with this much experience that I have now back in 2018 when I started my first Championship, especially because I’ve had a really short career. I started late because of my situation, and I wish I could have had the same knowledge that I have now back then.”

IF YOU WEREN’T A DRIVER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

“This is really tricky! I think I would push to be an engineer in motorsport, but I don’t think I have the competence to do it – at least now. I think I would still be involved with motorsport because it’s really what I love the most.

READ MORE: Jak Crawford: A Race in my Words

“My best subject in school was mathematics. Maybe that’s changed now, and I might not have been the strongest at calculating stuff mentally, but in terms of logic I was quite good. Also, I was quite strong at physics, but then after I was quite bad everywhere except sports.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE AND TV SERIES?

“I don’t watch so much TV now. I love documentaries, for example Drive To Survive or the documentary about Kobe Bryant, on all these competitors. But I’m not the type of guy that is going to the cinema to watch Star Wars.”

WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?

“Miracle by Karma – I'm always listening to random songs. I spend a lot of time in the car and on the plane, so obviously I know all my songs by heart so it’s time to change.”

default image

FUNNIEST OR MOST EMBARASSING THING YOU’VE EVER DONE?

“I’ve done a lot of things that are quite embarrassing, but one recent one was on the plane to Bahrain with Ollie. I was alongside two bodybuilders, so obviously I wanted to change my place and there was no more space in the back, so we tried to upgrade ourselves and go to premium economy.

“After 10 minutes, the stewards were looking and counting who was in there and they saw something was not right. So, they came to take us back to economy, which was quite embarrassing to be honest because we tried to make it look like it was just a mistake, but it clearly wasn’t.

“It was all because I was alongside two bodybuilders and I didn’t have space to breathe, and it’s a six-hour flight. I tried to find a solution and I wanted to be sat with Ollie, so we risked it and we lost. It happens to the best!”

READ MORE: Karting titles and coming back from adversity: the moments that made Juan Manuel Correa

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM BIRTHDAY CAKE?

“Chocolate cake! As soon as there’s chocolate, I’m liking it.”

FAVOURITE RACING MEMORY?

“I would say Paul Ricard in back in 2021 in Formula 3 because it was a tricky race. We finished last in Qualifying, and I had to climb up the field to finish. Obviously, I had a victory in Race 2, the reverse grid helped me a bit, but I started from P30 and came back to P12 for Race 2.

“Then I went to P1 in Race 2, which was quite a good feeling, especially because there were all my friends there. It was close to home, so it was one of my best memories, but obviously not the way you want to take the victory.”

default image

WHAT’S YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?

“I have a bracelet that I take everywhere with me, but I’m not superstitious. I like to have it with me, and if I don’t it’s okay.”

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?

“It’s tricky because it’s not thanks to advice that you will learn. I really think that you need to do things first in order to learn from it, obviously not everything but it’s all about getting along with experience.”

READ MORE: Becoming a Champion gymnast and title redemption: Victor Martins on the moments that made him

FAVOURITE PLACE YOU’VE BEEN TO AND ONE PLACE YOU’D LIKE TO VISIT?

“My favourite place is London. I quite like it because it’s huge, it’s the complete opposite of Monaco. Yet at the same time, I feel quite comfortable. There’s everything you could want there and it’s a city that is moving all the time.

“It has plenty of restaurants and plenty of things to do. Something that I really like are the parks that London has, in Monaco you don’t have this. I really enjoy it there because it’s so big, there’s a lot of people but you don’t feel the same pressure that you normally feel in big cities.

“One place I’d like to visit is Bali because it reminds me a lot of going on vacation. I’ve never been there, so I would like to do one holiday there sometime.”