Charles Leclerc and the trip to Lourdes: flight is kindly offered by... Ryanair

Charles Leclerc and the trip to Lourdes: flight is kindly offered by… Ryanair

Low-cost airline Ryanair “offers” Charles Leclerc a ticket to Lourdes: the Monegasque driver of Ferrari had jokingly expressed his desire to go there after the incident during the formation lap of the Brazilian GP.

“This hasn’t been a year where I’ve been particularly lucky… Perhaps a trip to Lourdes will help me at some point… I don’t know what to do.” Charles Leclerc responded in this manner to Sky Sport F1’s microphones yesterday, just a few minutes after colliding with his Ferrari SF-23 number 16 while performing the formation lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix. An unexpected failure led the Monegasque driver to make a bitter yet clever joke.

Ryanair was equally clever in seizing the opportunity. This afternoon, the low-cost airline posted on Elon Musk’s social platform X (formerly Twitter) with a humorous boarding pass: departing from Brazil and arriving at Lourdes airport for passenger Charles Leclerc.

The fictional ticket includes references related to the Monegasque driver. For instance, the seat is 16, matching his race number in Formula 1, and the letter F, which also stands for Ferrari. Perhaps the most noteworthy detail is the reference, which seems to read “Incident” (1NCID3N7), a combination of numbers and letters.

In addition to the priority designation, Charles’s ticket indicates the possibility of carrying “2 small bags,” or two small pieces of luggage. While this wording appears random, it alludes to a particular intention and references the driver’s anatomy, which one can imagine after the incident.

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Last but not least, there’s a QR code at the center of the ticket. On the surface, it seems like a mere embellishment to make the ticket look more authentic. However, when scanned with a mobile phone, it leads to a screen where you can watch a video of Charles Leclerc driving at the Carlos Pace circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, in the F1 23 video game, an EA Sports game dedicated to Formula 1, with the option to challenge the driver’s fastest lap.

Ryanair’s creativity in this regard is commendable, as the airline often creates similar and well-timed social media posts. Returning to the sporting aspect of what happened yesterday, Ferrari will meticulously analyze the SF-23 number 16 upon its return to the Maranello factory. The team will then prepare the cars and transport them to the United States in preparation for the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, hoping not to have to make an actual stop in the famous French destination…