Resurfaced Viral Video Captures Charles Leclerc’s Hilarious Escape From an Angry Monkey

A viral video of Charles Leclerc being chased by a monkey in Ubud, Bali, has surfaced on social media, capturing a hilarious scene in a setting where you would hardly expect to see an F1 driver. Leclerc is most often seen behind the wheel of a Ferrari or inside the team’s garage, while his hometown of Monaco is another familiar backdrop for the Monegasque driver. Seeing him sprinting through a monkey forest, however, is certainly not something anyone would have expected.

According to the video, the incident occurred in 2018 at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, Bali. The Monegasque driver was clearly in the mood for some mischief that day, but little did he know that the monkey in question would be eager to take its revenge.

Leclerc playfully tapped the monkey’s tail, which likely upset it greatly. Without missing a moment, the animal charged at him. Fortunately, the F1 driver’s lightning-fast reflexes kicked in at the right time, helping him dodge the monkey. What followed was a classic F1-style chase as Leclerc weaved through the crowd.

May 23, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (16) during Lenovo Grand Prix Du Canada sprint race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The monkey, apparently not ready to let Leclerc off that easily, chased him for some distance before eventually giving up. The sudden turn of events, combined with Leclerc’s unexpected reaction, made the whole encounter even more amusing.

Back in 2018, Leclerc was racing for the Sauber F1 Team, which was later acquired by Audi as part of the German automaker’s Formula 1 entry. The Monegasque driver moved to Ferrari in 2019 and has remained with the team ever since. However, the 2026 season has not been particularly smooth for Leclerc, with his only race win coming in July at the British Grand Prix.

At the most recent Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, Leclerc finished fourth despite leading for much of the race. Ferrari’s late pit-stop strategy saw him come in on Lap 48 as the team anticipated a safety car period. When the safety car failed to appear, Ferrari had little choice but to bring him in. Leclerc nevertheless backed his team’s decision, saying he believed it was the right strategy. He told F1:

“I think we did the right thing honestly. If I had to do the race again I would re-do exactly the same thing in terms of strategy.

“Starting on the soft and doing a soft-hard would have brought me to P4 anyway. Doing a hard-soft, I was just hoping for a Safety Car at the right moment for us at the end, but that never really happened.

“A bit of a shame but at the end we were relying on a bit of the luck and we didn’t have it.”