Paul Mescal is an Irish actor best known for his roles in Gladiator II and Hamnet, but his knowledge about Formula 1 once took Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc by surprise.
Mescal received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 31st Critics’ Choice Awards in 2026 for his role as William Shakespeare in Hamnet.
His co-star, Jessie Buckley, beat the likes of Emma Stone to win the Best Actress award for her role as Mescal’s wife, Agnes Hathaway.
County Kildare native Mescal met Leclerc and the Ferrari F1 driver’s then-teammate, Carlos Sainz, before the 2024 United States Grand Prix whilst promoting Gladiator II.
He played the lead role of Lucius Verus, the son of Maximus Decimus Meridius, in the 2024 hit release film.
Paul Mescal stunned Charles Leclerc with his knowledge about battery deployment in F1
Mescal met Leclerc and Sainz as part of a feature for Sky Sports F1, in which the then-Ferrari teammates gave him a tour of the Scuderia’s garage at the Circuit of the Americas.
The Irish actor also took a keen interest in the steering wheel that Leclerc used in the 2024 F1 season.
Leclerc noted: “This is my steering wheel. Actually, the one on Carlos’ [car] is very similar. I think we actually use the same one.” To which, Sainz said: “I think so. Let me see. You can choose where it is you want the charge.”
Mescal responded: “Is that when you’re trying to stay in front of somebody. Is that your battery?” Which stunned Leclerc, who said: “You know a lot of things!”
But Leclerc and Sainz could not show Mescal the one thing on Ferrari’s 2024 steering wheel that the actor really wanted to see, which were the controls that the two drivers used at the start of a race to launch off the grid.
Paul Mescal served as a good luck charm for Ferrari at the 2024 United States Grand Prix
Mescal’s visit to Ferrari prior to the 2024 United States GP proved to be something of a good luck charm, as Sainz secured P2 in the F1 Sprint at COTA before Leclerc won the Grand Prix.
Sainz secured Ferrari a one-two finish in the 2024 United States GP, as well, as the Spaniard took the finish line 8.562 seconds behind Leclerc.
It even marked their second and final one-two finish of the 2025 season after Sainz won that year’s Australian Grand Prix ahead of Leclerc in P2 by 2.366s.
Sainz and Leclerc shared a total of five podiums during the 2024 season at the Grands Prix in Australia, Monaco, the United States, Mexico City and Abu Dhabi. The 2024 Mexico City GP also remains Ferrari’s most recent Grand Prix victory thanks to Sainz.
Ferrari failed to win a single Grand Prix in 2025 with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who failed to score a single podium after replacing Sainz at the Scuderia. Sainz scored two podiums in 2025 after joining Williams with P3 finishes in Azerbaijan and Qatar.
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