Charles Leclerc is a proud Monegasque and has shown his love for his country on several occasions. Although he also speaks both Italian and French fluently, he prefers to be labelled as a Monegasque and nothing else.
It is for this reason that he has seemingly also gotten irked on multiple occasions when he has been labelled as French. Here is a look at two incidents when Leclerc seemed unhappy about being considered French.
Charles Leclerc Nationality: 2 times when Ferrari driver showed his love for Monaco
The first such incident took place in 2017 when Charles Leclerc won the Formula 2 championship. Instead of the organizers playing the national anthem of Monaco, they played the French national anthem. On hearing the same, Leclerc waved his arms and urged the organizers to play Monaco’s national anthem.
A similar incident also took place more recently when a trackside reporter seemingly referred to Leclerc as French. After speaking about Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the reporter addressed Leclerc by stating, “From French to another French speaker.”
The Ferrari driver clearly didn’t seem too pleased with the introduction as he attempted to correct the reporter right away. Leclerc’s fans seemed to enjoy his reaction as they were so surprised to see how proud of a Monegasque he is.
Several fans pointed out about how Leclerc was ‘ready to fight’ on being referred to as French. Meanwhile, some other fans just referred to him as incredibly funny.
Leclerc has a strong connection to both France and Italy
Since Charles Leclerc spent such a huge part of his childhood in both France and Italy, he believes he has a strong connection to both these countries. After winning the Formula 2 championship, the Monegasque addressed the anthem goof-up by stating, “I already speak French. When I won in F2, they played the French anthem for me”!
While Leclerc is a proud Monegasque, he has admitted that both France and Italy are also two countries that are extremely close to his heart. The 25-year-old explained in an earlier interview how his motorsport career began in France. After spending a significant part of his childhood in France, he also stated that he spent 10 years in Italy.
Since he ‘grew up with Italians’ in his teenage years, he stated that he feels Italian as well. However, when it comes to his nationality, Charles Leclerc has made it clear that he does not want to be considered anything other than Monegasque.
