Celebrities and sports stars playing chess against grandmasters never ends well. Formula 1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Sir Lewis Hamilton found that out against GM Teimour Radjabov. Photo: Ferrari.

With the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix about to get under way, F1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Sir Lewis Hamilton took a pit stop to indulge their other big passion: chess.

Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Hamilton have been no stranger to the 64 squares playing regularly and apparently developing a bit of a rivalry between themselves. Both are very keen, and intensely competitive about it.

Before practice in Baku the pair got the chance to take on one of Azerbaijan's top players GM Teimour Radjabov.

The 38-year-old is a former FIDE World Cup winner, four-time Candidates qualifier and the 19th-highest rated player in chess history. For the two F1 drivers, defeat was, of course, inevitable.

“He basically played with me, and when he wanted to win the game, he did!” Leclerc said afterwards.

Photo: With permission from Ferrari.