It’s been a great time for the Monegasque people as they had Charles Leclerc win this year’s Monaco Grand Prix. This is the first time in the history of the principality that a local driver has won the home race.  This has led to him being called for multiple interviews from news portals all over the world and recently it was the Italian media house, LaStampa.

Let’s talk about what just happened in the sports world of Italy first. Jannik Sinner the tennis player became World Number 1 on June 16 and almost everyone is talking about it. So when Leclerc was interviewed by LaStampa, it was only obvious to ask if he had heard of the iconic win, and to no one’s surprise, he had. But while the Monaco GP winner spoke about Sinner’s World No. 1, he revealed the two had planned a not-so-great day for him.

What did Charles Leclerc plan with Jannik Sinner?

When LaStampa asked Leclerc, “The Italian of the moment in sport is Jannik Sinner, your fellow citizen. Do you know him?” The Ferrari driver shared the relationship the two share as he said, “We often write to each other. He sent me several messages when I won in Monte Carlo, a moment I had been waiting for for years, and I obviously wrote to him for the number 1.”

Things got interesting when Leclerc further revealed, “So far, however, we have only seen each other at a few awards ceremonies, but we agreed that soon we’ll play padel. Even if it won’t be a great day for me…” Of course, the Ferrari racer is an athlete in the elite top 20 drivers in the world by racing in Formula, but his tennis skills are not as polished as Sinners. Being in Formula 1 makes a person competitive, so losing in any aspect of life is not allowed, even if it’s in Padel, against the World’s number 1 tennis player.

Although the two athletes are to play together, they have not yet decided when it will happen. This would be an extremely fun match to watch as fans would like to see how Leclerc fares against the Grand Slammer. However, Leclerc is not an absolute rookie when it comes to the sport, in fact, a lot of F1 drivers enjoy playing Padel on their off time. Let’s take a look at the Padel scene within the Formula 1 community.

Formula 1’s Padel association

Charles Leclerc is one of the drivers who enjoys playing padel. Over the years, we have seen other drivers join him. There was an infamous spotting of him being joined by Max Verstappen as they played together in Monaco 8 months ago. Even though Verstappen is the defending F1 champion, he was beaten by Leclerc. Verstappen later mentioned that he often loses to the Ferrari driver at Padel.

Charles and Max played Padel [via Norman Nato on Instagram]
byu/OutlandishnessPure2 informula1

But Verstappen is not the only driver who Leclerc has taken to the courts with. This includes his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. Leclerc revealed that the Spaniard is the “best” player among all the drivers he’s played against. So far, Leclerc has played against the Red Bull driver, while also bringing Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and Daniel Ricciardo to join in for a session of fun.

Formula 1 drivers are performing their atheism within a car and although this does need a lot of training for the body and mind, Padel becomes a great way for them to move around without wheels. Almost all F1 drivers have an interest in other sports as do many athletes from all disciplines.

It would be a definite event to catch if Leclerc manages to set a time to take on the current World No. 1 Tennis player. Will the experience from playing Padel against F1 drivers be enough for Leclerc to go up against Sinner? That remains a question that only time will answer. Hopefully, we get to see a match soon, and if we do, who do you think will win? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.