Charles Leclerc On Releasing Music, The New F1 Season & His Partnership With Chivas Regal

Right now, F1 is going from strength to strength. Netflix’s Drive To Survive (now on its seventh season) brought a whole new audience, while new initiatives like the F175 Live show—the first ever unveiling of new season liveries by all the teams together at a star-studded event—and the upcoming release this summer of F1 the movie (starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris) look set to take the sport to a whole new level. And that’s before we mention the on-track action. 

Last season was the most competitive in years, with 2025 expected to be even more so with a host of closely-matched teams, increasingly intense driver rivalries and a swathe of exciting young rookie drivers. At the very heart of all of this are Ferrari—the most decorated F1 team of all time and winners of the constructor’s championship in 2024—and Charles Leclerc, the Monaco native who finished third last time out, and, now joined by new teammate Lewis Hamilton, is laser-focused on going even better this time around.

Away from the track, Charles Leclerc was recently announced as the global brand ambassador for luxury Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal, in a new multi-year partnership that aims to celebrate successes big or small, and to explore and bring to life Charles’ off-track passions. A big one of these is his love of music—he is a self-taught pianist and composer who has released numerous tracks—and it this that has inspired the event that marks the launch of the partnership: a pop-up piano bar, called Leclerc’s, in Melbourne for one night only, on the eve of the new F1 season.

As the refined musical vibes drift out into the warm Melbourne air and the bespoke Charles Leclerc x Chivas Regal cocktail—The Leclerc Spritz—begin to flow, Complex took the chance to catch up with the man himself to discuss his musical journey, his partnership with Chivas Regal, and his feelings ahead of the new F1 season.

COMPLEX: Hosting this pop-up piano bar is a fun way to launch your partnership with Chivas Regal—how did it come about?
Charles Leclerc: The ethos of the partnership is about bringing people together to celebrate those moments and wins in your life, be they big or small, as well as [Chivas Regal] giving me a chance to explore my passions away from the track. I think music is a nice bridge to have with Chivas, with the composition of music mirroring the perfect blend of the drink, with how every single note in both is so important. So we brainstormed what we could do to start the partnership with a bang, and doing a pop-up piano bar in Melbourne seemed like a great idea.

What role does music play in your life?
A very important one. While I’m doing what I always dreamt of doing in being a Formula 1 driver—and I absolutely love my life—it’s also very, very hectic. I’m always going from one place to another and don’t have a lot of time for myself. But sometimes it’s good to slow down and to take time to reflect on the things I’ve done, good or bad, and to think about how I can get better. And the way for me to disconnect is through music. I also use music to help get me into a particular state I want to be in, if that’s calmer or if I need to be activated before getting into the car. 

And you’re a self-taught pianist and composer, right?
Yes. Music has always had that role in my life and during Covid, I had a lot of time for myself so I bought a piano. I started learning and playing and composing, and since then, I absolutely love it. It’s a way for me to disconnect, and I need it. It’s so good to feel disconnected from everything around and just focus on composing music.

Most of what you play and release is classical—why is that?
It calms me, helps me slow down. I’m a very happy person, but for some reason, I’ve always loved listening to melancholic songs. I know incredible artists can make the piano sound happy, but for me, until I can reach that level, it always seems to go in a melancholic way, which is one reason why I love the instrument so much.

What role does music play for you in and around race weekend? 
I don’t always have access to a piano on every race weekend, but when I do, it’s something I’ll do at the end of the day, when I come back after all the craziness there is at the track. The adrenaline of getting into the car, the energy of the fans—which is, of course, always amazing—can sometimes be a crazy experience in certain places around the world. Then I will get into my private space, be on my own and find myself again—that is when I usually play the piano.

You title your tracks in a specific way: “MON23”, “MIA23” etc. What’s the idea behind that?
It’s the way racing engineers title the racing events on their computer. So, ‘Sing 24’ is the Singapore Grand Prix, 2024. Every time I do a track, it’s around a race, so I’ve chosen to use the race at which I’ve created that song as the title. It’s as simple as that. But it’s cool in that it creates a connection with the races, and with racing.

What other music genres are you into? 
I have a couple of genres I don’t listen to too much, but everything else I basically like. I’m a very curious person, though, so for example: jazz—which, at the moment, is a genre I don’t listen to too much—I will sometimes force myself to listen to it, to try and understand it, as I’m just curious to know more about music.

Lewis Hamilton also makes music, albeit quite different to what you’ve put out. Have you guys spoken about music at all, and what sort of sounds can we expect to hear bumping out of the Ferrari garage this season?
There was a joint playlist we put together a little while ago and both of us really enjoyed it, so now every time we’re together—on a shoot or whatever—we play that. There’s a mix of tracks and genres on there, including one by Rema that’s a pretty cool song that we both really enjoy. And, yes, we have spoken a lot about music—more than I did with Carlos [Sainz] actually—as Lewis is also very into it and something we are both very passionate about.

So is there a musical collaboration on the cards?
[Laughs]Maybe one day. For now, the collaboration is mostly on track as we try to bring Ferrari back to the top. Maybe we’ll think about doing a song together to celebrate it if we manage to do it!

How has it been having Lewis as a teammate so far?
It’s been great. We get on super well; there are no problems. Yeah, it’s going super well.

Is there anyone else on the grid who makes their own music?
Liam Lawson, I think. He plays the guitar very, very well.

You collaborated with French pianist Sofiane Pamart on the Dreamers EP you released last year. What do you look for in a collaborator? 
Natural connections are really important to me because, as a sportsman, it’s not often that I get to open up. Most of the time, in Formula 1, you hide the way you actually feel, because that gives you a competitive advantage. But music is all about trying to open up and show emotions, so it’s very important for me that when I collaborate with people, there’s an actual real connection behind it. I met Sofiane and, straight away, we got on super-well, and I felt at peace in doing something with him. While I don’t have the talent, technically, that a real piano artist like Sofiane has, I do have a very artistic mind and I’m a very creative person. So, collaborating with him was super-interesting because I wasn’t limited anymore by what I could play. Creatively, every idea I had was suddenly possible because he could actually achieve it on the piano. I just loved the whole process of it, and it’s something I would love to do again in the future.

Who else would you like to collaborate with down the line?
I would love to do something again with Sofian, for sure. Otherwise, Hans Zimmer—he’s a composer that I’ve always loved—and Ludovic Einaldi, who is just amazing. 

Lots of drivers move to Monaco to live, but you were actually born there. What can you tell us about Monaco that only someone born there would know?
That it feels like a very small village. From the outside, it can look like a very glamorous city, and obviously there are some very big events where Monaco gets crowded, gets quite crazy, but most of the time it’s a very small village—and as Monégasque, we know each other very well. Literally everybody knows each other because we have very few people, and that’s what makes it so special compared to a big city where you might not cross many people you know while you’re walking in the streets. In Monaco, every time I walk in the street, I always come across someone I know.

We were at the F1 75 Live event in London, where all the F1 teams unveiled their new season cars and liveries. It was the first time anything like this has ever been held. What did you think of it, and do you think it could become a regular event?
I think it was really cool. Before, it used to be small, separate events for each team—all over the place. Now, it’s finally reunited everybody and that’s a good thing I think for F1, especially as popular as it’s getting now. So, yes: it was cool, and I think we should keep it!

Your partnership with Chivas Regal is about celebrating successes. How do you like to celebrate your successes?
With those close to me. When you get into Formula 1, you get a lot of attention; there are lots of people around, but there are very few who were there from the start, who helped me when I was growing up, who pushed me in moments that were difficult and always believed in me. For me, it’s important to always have these people around me and to celebrate with them.

The partnership is also about celebrating the achievement of personal goals, no matter how big or small. Do you set yourself specific personal goals at the start of a new season? And if so, what goals have you set yourself for this season?
Yes, the partnership is about celebrating achieving every little moment along the way, and yes: I am a very motivated person who sets goals for my career. Winning in Monza and Monaco were two of my goals that I achieved last year, which was great. But winning a world championship is my ultimate goal, and that is my target for this year.