The story about why LeClerc chose the number 16 is one of the most emotional stories I've ever heard. According to what my sister told me, he wanted to use the number 17 in honor of his godfather, Jules Bianchi, who had been killed in 2014. However, the number 17 has been retired by the FIA(This is the only number ever to be retired) so he chose the number 16 because it was the closest he could get.