A van and a plan: Sainz and Leclerc become road trip buddies
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan - April 6, 2025 Ferrari's Charles Leclerc waves to the crowd during the drivers parade before the race as Williams' Carlos Sainz Jr. looks on REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Former Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz rented a van and went on a road trip home to Monaco after their flight from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix landed in Italy due to bad weather.
Leclerc, who finished a disappointing ninth in Sunday's race in Baku while Sainz was third in Williams' first proper Formula One podium since 2017, posted a viral video of the impromptu trip on Instagram.
"So after a very difficult weekend in Baku I thought it couldn't get any worse but...," Leclerc intoned in darkness before the camera panned around to show his vehicle entering a tunnel.
Sainz, at the wheel, picked up the story: "We were diverted for a storm, we couldn't land in Nice. So we landed in the middle of Italy, we rented a van and now we are on our way to Monaco.
"A two-hour drive, we will make it in one hour and a half," joked the Spaniard, who lost his seat at Ferrari to seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton at the end of last year.
Hamilton has yet to stand on the podium with his new team in 17 races.
