Charles Leclerc admits he has a ‘special bond’ with F1 rival he’s never been teammates with

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Charles Leclerc has revealed that he has a ‘special bond’ with a driver that he has never been teammates with on the Formula 1 grid.

Since joining the grid with Sauber in 2018, Charles Leclerc has been with three teammates in his F1 career; Antonio Giovinazzi, Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.

He will have his work cut out from the 2025 season when seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, a challenge that Leclerc claimed he sees as a ‘super opportunity’ to improve.

Out of all the 19 other drivers on the grid, Leclerc names one other who has never been his teammate with that he shares a special friendship with on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

Charles Leclerc reveals ‘special bond’ with this F1 driver

With a packed 24-race schedule on the F1 calendar, it is rare that drivers get any rest outside of their training and race weekends.

Time in between races such as triple-headers can sometimes be a great way to wind down for the drivers, while they are all given a mandatory two-week holiday during the F1 summer break in August.

Sometimes it can mean drivers spend time with each other on holidays, which Leclerc has sometimes been spotted doing with his best friend out of the pool of 19 on the grid.

“We [Gasly] were going on holidays together when we were eight or nine with our parents and both of our families, and it was really fun. So we have a special bond apart from the racing one,” said Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly at Taylor Swift

Leclerc and Gasly have been seen at various events together, including the ATP Monte Carlo Masters match between Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune last year.

The pair have also been spotted at Wimbledon previously, with them both sitting in the Royal Box on Centre Court with their partners.

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Most recently they were at the Taylor Swift concert in Milan, where the American artist played in front of 65,000 people at the San Siro stadium.

Leclerc revealed that he met Gasly accidentally at the concert, which took place in between the British and Hungarian Grands Prix.