Charles Leclerc Once ‘Bet on His Life’ to Avoid Asking Permission From Ferrari for a Dangerous Sport

Charles Leclerc once avoided asking permission from Ferrari to try skydiving. This was an incident from December 2019, the year the Monegasque made his debut with the Prancing Horse. He revealed in the book, Charles Leclerc: A Biography by Adam Hay-Nicholls, how Ferrari got upset with him trying skydiving, as he risked his life.

The Monegasque tried this adventure from 10,000 ft above Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah. However, he wasn’t alone as it was a tandem jump. So, he had a pro skydiver strapped with him. Leclerc mentioned how he also wanted to do a solo jump but knew that his team wouldn’t allow it.

He stated about it, “Normally you should [seek permission), and I do. I didn’t for skydiving, because I just told myself that if it goes wrong, I won’t be here to get a telling-off. So, I just went for it, and they were a little bit upset. I won’t do it a second time. It was amazing, but it was just to do it once.”

How Charles Leclerc once avoided asking Ferrari’s permission to try skydiving and risked his life!

Credits: Charles Leclerc: A Biography by Adam Hay-Nicholls pic.twitter.com/dDmye3WHKW

— Aishwary Gaonkar (@aishwary31) May 7, 2024

For obvious reasons, Ferrari would not want Leclerc to try dangerous activities like skydiving. All F1 teams in the modern era have strictly put clauses in their drivers’ contracts about restrictions on engaging in adventure activities.

This includes activities like skydiving and skiing. Given the high risk of serious injury and fatality, no team wants their talented drivers to bear the pain and compromise their racing career.

So, Leclerc admitted how that was the only time he had tried skydiving and wouldn’t try it again. However, the Monegasque can still engage in other recreational activities like scuba diving.

Charles Leclerc has a scuba diving license

Charles Leclerc has a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) advanced license which permits him to dive to a depth of 40 m (131 ft). Apparently, that is the maximum limit for all recreational scuba diving.

Leclerc also mentioned about his diving license in the book, “Some of my mates are quite scared about doing it, as you go quite deep. But with one of my best friends, we passed all the licenses together. We go out when we can during the summer break.”

Charles Leclerc has a PADI advanced licence for scuba diving, allowing him to give until the maximum depth of 40m

Credits: Charles Leclerc: A Biography by Adam Hay-Nicholls pic.twitter.com/20xetyBMgv

— Aishwary Gaonkar (@aishwary31) May 7, 2024

The Ferrari driver is quite a sporting enthusiast with an interest in many sports beyond F1. Besides scuba diving, Leclerc also enjoys playing padel. Padel has become the new trending sport that many of his peer drivers have started playing.

From a spectator perspective, the Monegasque watches many sports like tennis and basketball. He often attends both NBA and tennis matches whenever he gets time.