Quick facts: Charles Leclerc
Age: 28 · Nationality: Monégasque · #16
Known for: Eight Sleep Athlete and Investor
Meet the athlete who treats recovery as a pillar of performance.
Charles Leclerc performs at the highest level of his sport, where the difference between winning and losing is measured in milliseconds. Talent and training are essential, yes, but sustaining that level of performance week after week also requires something less visible: consistent, deep, high-quality sleep.
We spent a day with Leclerc in Monaco to learn how one of the world’s most recognizable athletes approaches performance, recovery, and life beyond competition. Below, eight things that surprised us.
8 things you didn’t know about Charles Leclerc:
1. When other kids were pulling all-nighters, Leclerc was learning the importance of rest.
At age 12, Leclerc attended a mental performance center in Italy. What he discovered there surprised him: rest was just as important as physical training. Leclerc credits learning this at an early age, and prioritizing it throughout his career, as a cornerstone of his success, on and off the track.
2. His competitive edge extends to chess.
Growing up, Leclerc would play game after game of chess with his grandpa. At first, he lost every game. But by age 10, his grandpa found him a worthy opponent. A game he still loves, Leclerc draws parallels between chess and competing at the highest level: both reward thinking multiple moves ahead, both punish short-term decisions.
3. Monaco is less of a spectacle, more of a small village, to Leclerc.
The big events, the star-studded superyachts, the tournaments… those last a few weeks. The rest of the year, Leclerc says, Monaco feels like a place where everyone knows each other. It’s quaint. It’s slow-paced. It’s communal. As exhilarating as those flashy moments are, this is the version of Monaco he loves most.
4. Leclerc’s fashion brand, CL16, is a nod to growing up by the sea.
To Leclerc, his fashion brand CL16 is a lifestyle, not merch. The Monégasque flag appears proudly on each piece. Baby blue anchors every collection, reminiscent of his childhood by the sea. The word “sedici,” translating to 16 in Italian, appears as a nod to both his number and his relationship with the nearby country. He’s involved with every fit decision, down to the hoodie cut.
5. He checks his sleep score before he checks his messages… and competes with his wife.
Every morning, Leclerc opens the Eight Sleep app before anything else, checking on his quality, deep sleep, REM, and consistency scores. Then, he looks at his wife Alexandra’s scores, over on the other side of the Pod. (There’s an active competition in their household over them.)
On average, Leclerc’s Eight Sleep data shows 8 hours 50 minutes of sleep, with 1 hour 34 of deep sleep and 2 hours 50 of REM.
6. He can sleep up to 12 hours, guilt-free.
On a typical night, Leclerc aims for 8-9 hours of sleep. But, when you spend 24 weekends a year traveling and competing across five continents, early flights, late nights, and jet lag don’t always allow for it. Back at home, after the sleep debt compounds, Leclerc plays catch-up, blocking off 10, 11, sometimes 12 hours. To him, it’s necessary to get his body and mind back on track.
7. Leclerc loved Eight Sleep so much, he reached out to invest.
Leclerc first looked to Eight Sleep to solve two pain points: his tendency to overheat at night, and the need for different sleep temperatures from his wife Alexandra.
The results spoke for themselves. “It solved a problem that many people, if not all people, have,” Leclerc said.
Leclerc emailed Eight Sleep co-founder and CEO Matteo Franceschetti to propose working together. (What he didn’t know until they met was that Franceschetti had tried to reach his management seven years prior.) But Leclerc didn’t want to just share his love for Eight Sleep. He wanted others to experience the difference, and so he became an investor.
8. His dream for the future is two-fold.
First: World Champion. A goal that hasn’t changed since childhood.
Second: “To be a good friend, a good brother, husband, dad hopefully one day. And just being there for my close ones, which at the end is the most important thing in life.”
How sleep powers Charles Leclerc’s performance
Leclerc’s schedule is one of the most demanding in professional sports: 24 race weekends a year across five continents. The body cannot sustain that output without sufficient, high-quality sleep.
Knowing the importance of rest, Leclerc has been sleeping on the Eight Sleep Pod for three years. Across 249 nights with Autopilot, the system made over 6,500 temperature adjustments. On one recent night alone, Autopilot made 70 adjustments and increased his REM sleep by 33%.
Sleep is not recovery from training. It is training.
Charles sleeps on the Pod by Eight Sleep, clinically shown to deliver up to 34% more deep sleep and up to a 17% increase in HRV.* His three-year practice is a core reason Eight Sleep partnered with him as both an athlete and an investor.
FAQs about Charles Leclerc
Who is Charles Leclerc?
Charles Leclerc is a 28-year-old Monégasque athlete, proudly repping #16. He is an Eight Sleep athlete and investor.
Why did Charles Leclerc invest in Eight Sleep?
He had been using the Pod for years before any partnership existed. He reached out to CEO Matteo Franceschetti because the product solved a real problem for him and his wife.
How long has Charles Leclerc used Eight Sleep?
Three years. His Autopilot has made over 6,500 adjustments and his REM sleep increased by 33%.
What does Charles Leclerc do when he can’t sleep?
Diaphragmatic breathing (also known as “belly or deep breathing”). He uses it before big days and before sleep.
What is CL16?
Charles Leclerc’s personal fashion brand. CL16 stands for his initials and his number. Sedici (16 in Italian) appears across the pieces, alongside the Monegasque flag and baby blue as the anchor color.
What does Charles Leclerc do outside of competing?
Chess, piano, and padel. He discovered padel on YouTube during COVID. He has composed music with pianist Sophie Ann Pamard. He is also building his personal fashion brand CL16 alongside his career.
What is Charles Leclerc’s biggest dream?
World Champion. And to be a good friend, brother, husband, and, one day, dad.
