As the off-season days continue, Charles Leclerc has been investing a lot of his time in growing his YouTube channel. The Monegasque driver often uploads vlogs and behind-the-scenes videos of his daily life, giving his fans an inside view into his life away from the tracks of F1. In the ‘trailer’ for the next vlog, the Ferrari driver seemed interested in making a career switch to basketball, but it turned out that he was “sh*t” at it.
Leclerc’s luck on American soil has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. In Austin last year, his podium result turned into a disqualification due to technical infringements. His luck was similar when he picked up a basketball, hoping to turn into Kobe Bryant right away. But the truth (as seen in the short video uploaded on YouTube by Leclerc) couldn’t be more different.
The Ferrari driver missed one shot after another, blaming the ‘wind’ inside an indoor court for his failures. In total, Leclerc took eight shots, missing seven of them as the “wind” kept pushing the ball to the left of the basket, per his claims.
The video started with Leclerc thinking about switching careers but he soon started questioning his skills, shouting out, “Why the f*ck am I so bad?”
Following the same, the 26-year-old understood he was better off as an F1 driver as he admitted, “I’m so sh*t!” Admittedly, Leclerc’s basketball career would never have taken off, so he should be grateful that he discovered something he was truly good at as a child – motor racing.
Not the only awkward Basketball-related incident in the life of Charles Leclerc
Of late, Leclerc is enjoying an increased love for the sport of basketball, spending time playing the sport while also visiting live matches. In November 2023, Leclerc visited the Crypto.com Arena in LA to witness the LA Lakers play the Portland Trailblazers ahead of the much-anticipated Las Vegas GP alongside Esteban Ocon. While there, the two met with LeBron James, who missed out on playing the game but was there to support his team.
The interaction between the three athletes became an awkward meet for Leclerc, who stood there empty-handed while Ocon brought one of his helmets to gift to the all-time leading scorer of the NBA. Unprepared for the meet, Leclerc expressed his regret to James by saying had he known they would be meeting, he too would have brought over a helmet to gift.
In 2022, Leclerc was even a part of a pick-up game in Paris alongside fellow drivers Ocon and Pierre Gasly. The drivers’ interest in basketball shows their love for different sports, signifying how they want to explore any activity and not just limit themselves to one discipline.
