Italian police detained four people this week in connection with the theft of Charles Leclerc’s valuable Richard Mille watch while he was in the Italian resort of Viareggio in April 2022.
Two people in helmets had approached Leclerc, asking for a selfie when the watch was removed from his wrist, leading him to pursue the thieves in his Ferrari 488 Pista Spider.
As part of their investigation, authorities released CCTV of the Formula 1 driver’s pursuit, leading fans to compare him to the DC superhero Batman
“Charles Leclerc batman era,” one remarked, with another person posting a meme of the Ferrari driver in the superhero’s mask.
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“We love Charles Leclerc. F1 driver during the day, Batman at night,” a fan added.
“I’m not sure what’s funnier. The way he obeys traffic laws while chasing down criminals (and uses his turn signal at 0:10) or the fact that he liked this video on Twitter,” one Reddit user said.
“‘Leclerc closes in on thieves. Binotto: Box this lap.’,” another joked, in reference to Ferrari’s strategy calls during the 2022 season.
Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Leclerc was unable to catch the thieves and retrieve his timepiece.
Police haven’t confirmed whether the Monegasque’s watch has been retrieved yet but they did state that two “valuable” items were discovered, promising to investigate their origin further.
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Leclerc will be hoping that he has more success in the courtroom than he has had on track, as his 2023 season has had a rock start, as he sits in eighth place in the Drivers’ Standings after suffering two DNFs in three races.
Ferrari isn’t fairing much better in the Constructors’ race, finding itself in fourth place after a tough round saw the team leave Australia with zero points.
Leclerc crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix on the first lap after a collision with Lance Stroll, while Carlos Sainz was dumped out of the points due to a last lap penalty.