Ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has released his debut single, titled ‘AUS23 (1:1)’.
The song title is perhaps a reference to his recent trip to Australia for the Australian Grand Prix, a trip which saw him retire on the opening lap at the Albert Park Circuit.
Whilst things might not be going smoothly for the 25-year-old on the circuit, things appear to be going significantly better off of it, after opting to release his debut track.
Leclerc recently hinted that he was on the verge of releasing a song during a game of ‘never have I ever’ on Formula 1’s YouTube channel, where he revealed that he had recorded a track.
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The song itself is an instrumental track of the Monegasque driver playing the piano, something he’s exceptionally good at.
By releasing a song, he joins seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton as somewhat of an F1 musician, with Hamilton having released his own music whilst having also featured on a song with Christina Aguilera song.
However, Hamilton initially released his music anonymously, under the name XNDA.
So with Leclerc and Hamilton both having released a track, perhaps the duo could work together on something?
Whether that happens or not remains to be seen; however, Leclerc’s attention will likely have now switched to this weekend’s return to racing.
The Baku City Circuit wasn’t a good venue for Leclerc last season, with the Monegasque having retired from the race whilst leading, due to a dramatic engine failure.
With the circuit boasting the longest straight on the F1 calendar, the 2.2km flat-out stretch towards the start/finish line puts all the engines under enormous stress, with Ferrari’s typically being the most susceptible to it.
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After retiring in Bahrain and Australia, Leclerc really needs a strong result in Baku to keep him within touching distance of the top five in the Drivers’ Championship.
With Saudi Arabia being the only race he’s finished, Leclerc has claimed just six points so far this season, meaning he’s averaged two points per race.
The likelihood, though, is that he’s going to be in for a tough weekend, after team principal Frederic Vasseur confirmed that Ferrari had no upgrades for Azerbaijan.