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When Charles Leclerc is behind the wheel of his supercharged V6 racing red Ferrari F1 car, the only thing on his mind is how fast he can sprint to the finish line — and who he has to fend off to take the checkered flag. But for the 26-year-old Formula 1 superstar, the mental preparation and focus begins long before the lights go out on the grid.
This is the inspiration behind Leclerc's new partnership with CELSIUS, with the driver acting as an official partner of the “Team CELSIUS” brand. Announced today, the signing follows CELSIUS' multi-year global partnership with Scuderia Ferrari, with the energy drink brand hailing Leclerc as someone who “embodies the spirit of performance and excellence that CELSIUS champions”. As part of the new partnership, Leclerc will star in marketing campaigns for the brand, both at retail and on social media, while making occasional appearances at events and participating in “interactive consumer experiences,” per release.
Leclerc calls it a “natural” collaboration, adding that he's been a fan of CELSIUS drinks since they first teamed up with Ferrari (their “worldly vibe” flavor is a favorite). “I'm very excited to represent a brand that really helps me achieve peak performance,” he says Rolling Stone. “Obviously, time is very limited in my sport, and whenever I get in the car, I have to be fully ready and fully focused immediately. Kelsi could not be a better fit for my lifestyle but also for the professional part of my Formula 1 life.”
LECLERC APPROVED
CELSIUS Sparkling Cosmic Vibe, Functional Essential Energy Drink
The CELSIUS ingredient list includes a basic blend of caffeine, green tea extract, vitamins and minerals, and Leclerc says the energy drinks also fit into his pre-race routine, which has been similarly unchanged for years. “It's very important to me to always do the exact same things over and over again, just to make sure my state of mind is always the same every time I get in the car,” he says. “The grid is hectic,” he explains, “and there are so many people [there] and they ask you basically everywhere, and that's only 10 or 15 minutes before you start the race. So it's important to have a routine.”
Leclerc's pre-race routine starts about an hour and a half before a race, with the same meal every Sunday: plain chicken with rice. No hot sauce? “No no no,” replies Leclerc, laughing: “It's not what you want before you get into a Formula 1 car.”
The F1 star also makes sure to stay hydrated with plenty of water and then: “Just before I get in the car, a celsius to give me the proper boost to start the race.”
There is a aspect of Leclerc's recently changed pre-race ritual. Until the beginning of this year, the driver never used to listen to music right before a race. He preferred to focus on his race plan in relative silence, giving himself the space to visualize the track and play out the team's strategy in his head. He never wanted to feel “too hard” or “too loose”, so he avoided any sound stimulation.
But that all changed “four or five races ago”, although Leclerc can't pinpoint exactly why. It suggests that maybe his mental state changed and he needed a way to adjust to how he was feeling at the time. “It's still pretty new,” he admits, “but now I really enjoy listening to music before I get in the car. It helps me separate myself from this hectic grid and be a little more in my own zone and alone.”
Leclerc's relationship with music has changed in other ways as well. During the pandemic, the racing driver learned to play the piano and later surprised fans by releasing a few songs on Spotify. While he counts artists like Maneskin and The Kooks as friends, the aspiring musician says he prefers “cinematic music” when putting together a playlist. Likewise, he has only released instrumental tracks for now.
Could we expect to hear a vocal release soon? Leclerc says he will continue to upload new music online, though he is quick to dispel any notion of putting his voice on a recording. “I'm not sure I'm a good singer,” he demurs. “And to actually release the song, I think it takes even more bravery,” he says, referencing fellow driver Lewis Hamilton's foray into music (“I've heard the songs he does and he's great,” says Leclerc, supportively).
As for his own music: “I feel like you really reveal yourself even more with your voice,” says Leclerc. “I'm happy playing the piano [but] I'm not so sure I'll be releasing my voice anytime soon.”
Although he has amassed more than 220,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and millions of streams on his independently released EP 2024, DreamersLeclerc admits that music is just a hobby for now, adding that “he's much better on the dance floor than I am behind a piano.” However, he admits it was the perfect way to disconnect from racing. “Whenever I'm not on the dance floor,” he says, “music is what I love.”
As he approaches the end of another Formula 1 season, Leclerc is optimistic about Ferrari's chances in the remaining races of the year. “Our aim is to finish the season on a high,” he says. “In the last races, we struggled a bit more with the speed. However, we are working extremely hard as a team and I think we are also working extremely well, which gives me confidence that we can turn this situation around.”
This will also mark Leclerc's final months with teammate Carlos Sainz, who is leaving Scuderia Ferrari for Williams next year, while Hamilton joins the Ferrari HP fold. Leclerc says he will miss working with Sainz, who he credits with pushing him to become a better driver.
“We have a very good relationship off the track and on the track as well,” says Leclerc. “I can't complain about anything with Carlos – he's a very fast driver and I think that's been very helpful for the whole team, including me, because whenever you have a really fast team-mate, it pushes you to really find something every time you go out on the track. road. And we pushed each other to perform better and better and better. And that's exactly what you need in a Formula 1 team.”
Leclerc offers a friendly reminder that while Sainz will no longer drive for Ferarri, he won't be leaving the track anytime soon. “What I'll miss the most is probably seeing Carlos in person, but at the same time, I can't really say because he'll always be in the paddock and we'll still see each other every weekend or so,” he says. “We had a perfect relationship [and] everything went very well. And I sincerely wish him the best. I hope we can finish this season on a high, both for Ferrari and with Carlos – we all want that.”
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