Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc Share a Laugh Over Their Cheating Chess Game

The dynamic duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been setting the Formula 1 world ablaze with their camaraderie, making them one of the most-watched pairings on the grid. Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, these popular racers shared a hearty laugh during an unexpected moment at a fan event.

The Chess Showdown: Hamilton vs. Leclerc

In an amusing twist, the Scuderia duo found themselves in a chess match, despite their cars’ performance struggles this season. Despite a surprising win at the Chinese sprint race, they have been grappling with underperformance. The two drivers entertained the crowds as they reminisced about their cheating escapade.

So we were in bed… playing chess,” Leclerc began, quickly clarifying to the audience’s laughter, “Not in the same bed, but he was in London. I was in Monaco, and we were playing chess.” The Monegasque continued, explaining their competitive nature that led to a deciding game.

And [Hamilton] doesn’t want to go to sleep being four-four. So he’s like, ‘Let’s do another game,'” Leclerc laughed, with Hamilton adding, “We can’t go to bed at four-four, we’ve gotta play again.” The crowd erupted in laughter, joining the chuckles from the stage.

The drivers then confessed their cheating ways. “The moves that he was making were so good. And I’m like, ‘damnit, what is the next move,'” Hamilton continued. “So then I thought well, maybe I’ll go online and find some suggestions of what could be next. And so I found this website and it started showing you… it’ll predict what you should do next.

Hamilton admitted to using the cheat tool for one move, but Leclerc’s moves were too good coming back, so he continued using it. The crowd roared with laughter as Leclerc finished, “The worst thing is that my bot, the program I was using, was worse than his, so I was cheating and I still lost, and I went to sleep so depressed.” Hamilton added, “I was laughing so hard on this flight. I was in tears.

Eagle-eyed fans spotted the duo playing chess together at the F1 75 launch event ahead of this season in London. While teams were sharing their presentations on-stage, the two Ferrari drivers were engrossed in games of chess before they unveiled their 2025 contender to the world for the first time.