Charles Leclerc slammed his Ferrari race engineer following a misunderstanding regarding strategy at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah on Sunday.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc hopes to challenge defending champion Max Verstappen for the drivers’ title this year, but he struggled to a seventh-place finish in the season’s second grand prix in Jeddah.
The 25-year old became irate over confusion between the pitwall and himself, which led to problems at the Maranello based racing team between him and his right-hand man Xavier Marcos Padros, who directs the driver’s race strategy.
Leclerc requested for guidance on what to do while the Mercedes team of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell tried to close the distance to the Ferrari rivals. He would later become irate at the delayed response to his request for guidance.
“Being behind like this is really ****. I don’t know what to do!” Leclerc expressed his frustration over the team radio.
Padros had previously suggested: “Try to push from Safety Car Line One. Lewis Hamilton just pitted.”
However, Leclerc expressed his dissatisfaction as he replied: “Xavi, you need to tell me that before!”
The Ferrari race engineer shortly replied: ‘Copy.’ But the Monegasque driver decided to continue to vent his frustration, adding: ‘No, but come on!’
Leclerc is already 38 points behind Verstappen after only two races due to his failure to place on the podium in Jeddah.
Ferrari has been predicted to be one of the most formidable Red Bull’s main rivals this season. Nevertheless, given the 43-second deficit between race winner Sergio Perez and Leclerc at the weekend, that task appears to be highly unachievable.
After Mattia Binotto’s removal from his position as team principal due to strategy concerns last season, the Scuderia squad has undergone a complete transformation this year.
Yet, Leclerc’s most recent outburst reveals there is still a lot of work to be done. At the beginning of the season, Ferrari made the unexpected choice to choose an external appointment as Frederic Vasseur was named the new boss.
Since the FIA decided to forbid drivers from riding bikes or scooters around circuits, Leclerc announced that he will no longer participate in pre-race track walks at upcoming GPs.
