Unlucky Charles Leclerc Failed to Keep a Straight Face as F1 PR Duties Brought Back Painful Memories

Grabbing the top step of the podium, not only finds the athletes soaked in champagne but also helps them stand with their heads held high while their national anthem is played during the ceremony.

However, in 2017, this was not the case for Charles Leclerc, who clinched the race win, but didn’t hear the Monegasque national anthem played for his triumph.

In the recent rendition of ‘Grill the Grid’, each driver took part in a challenge to name a circuit for every letter in the alphabet. When asked to name a track starting with ‘J’, Leclerc was quick to answer ‘Jerez’, but he could keep himself from bursting into laughter.

Perhaps it was the F2 podium shenanigan that sprung into his mind.

It was a high stake race for the Monegasque in F2 as a win that day in Jerez would secure him the world championship. He did the hard part and crossed the chequered flag in P1. Consequently, he made his way to the podium where he was expecting to symbolize the national anthem of his hometown.

The Ferrari protégé found himself flustered upon hearing French tunes over the Monegasque lyrics. He expressed his disbelief by throwing his hands in the air and looking around to see if the management realize the mistake. Nonetheless, it was not long before he put his hands behind his racing suit to show respect to the French national anthem.

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Notably, Monaco is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera. It lies in the South of France and is recognized as a border nation to it. Yet, the two are distinct principalities and it was not long before the correct anthem played to signify his glory.

Charles Leclerc makes a blunder over national anthems

Since 2012, the podium ceremony has featured the same procedure in the premier racing league. The race winner stands at the top of the central highest step, with the second-placed driver on his right and the third-placed driver on his left. The winning constructor stands atop a separate podium.

Following this, the national anthem of the race winner is played and then it is followed by the national anthem of the winning constructor. Leclerc, who has won every race in his F1 career while racing for Ferrari has become accustomed to listening to the Italian national anthem, just after the anthem representing his homage.

As a result, when asked to identify the tune of a song in a challenge against Carlos Sainz, the 24-year-old acclaimed the Italian National anthem as the one of his own country. This left him flabbergasted and he couldn’t believe he mixed the two different tunes.

He said, “Oh my God, what did I say? Monegasque anthem.”

“Because it felt like home, I was trying to sing it like this. Oh my God, I was so sure by myself. I was like, this sounds like home.”

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In 2022, the Ferrari and its star driver have a car capable of winning races each race weekend. Do you think, despite the habitual wins, Leclerc would get the national anthems right the next time?