After the British Grand Prix, is the house blessing at Ferrari lopsided? Charles Leclerc was not happy after the Silverstone race for several reasons. At first, his teammate Carlos Sainz didn’t let him pass him for a long time, although Leclerc was able to set faster lap times.
When the safety car came out on lap 39, Sainz was called into the pits. Leclerc stayed out as the leader on hard tires. At the restart, the Monegasse didn’t stand a chance against the cars with fresh tires behind him. While Sainz won, Leclerc was fourth.
After these decisions, Leclerc demanded clarifications from Ferrari. During the week there was a meeting with Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto in Monaco. Have the waves been smoothed over, or does the stall situation contain explosives?
At the beginning of the Austria weekend in Spielberg, Leclerc cleared up all the rumours: “It’s really not true. I was hoping that I didn’t have to say anything about it, because I get asked this question everywhere. I wish I didn’t do these things would have to fight.”
Leclerc emphasizes: “We are extremely united. Was there disappointment that we finished first and fourth in the last race? Yes, there was. Are we very, very happy with Carlos’ first victory? Yes, we are honestly that. “
“But before the safety car we were first and second. Then you finish the race as first and fourth. Of course there is disappointment. But there is no dividing line in the team. That’s for sure.”
Private meeting with Binotto in Monaco
Leclerc also confirmed that he met Binotto privately for lunch during the week. However, he says these are normal meetings that the two regularly hold off the track. It was about various problems of the past few weeks, also away from Silverstone.
Leclerc has not won since Australia. In Miami he stood on the podium for the last time. Five races followed with technical problems, strategy mistakes and bad luck. In the World Cup, his gap to Max Verstappen (Red Bull) has grown to 43 points.
Immediately after the Silverstone race, there was an initial conversation between Binotto and Leclerc in the pit lane. “After Silverstone, he was initially quite angry with me because he saw me extremely depressed,” Leclerc recapitulated.
“Of course he understood that. But he wanted to make sure that I was okay. And that I realize that I did an incredible job considering my situation after the safety car.”
“Then Monaco, we do that regularly. He came to Monaco because the last five races have been difficult for me. I just wanted to stay at home and switch off from everything so I’m 100 per cent ready for this weekend.”
Does Leclerc demand stable orders for himself?
At Red Bull, Verstappen is the clear number 1. Ferrari has not publicly committed itself to a spearhead. According to Leclerc, Ferrari has changed communication protocols for Spielberg so that problems like those at Silverstone should not arise in the future.
“In my opinion, I could not have done anything differently,” says Leclerc. “As a team, we’ve already changed a few things. It’s about communication during the race, to be ready for the specific moment.”
“When a safety car comes, you have to make a decision. If you’re not ready for it, then it gets tricky. As a team, we’ve changed a few things, but I won’t go into details.”
When asked if Leclerc has campaigned for a stable order in his favor, he replies: “It’s not up to me to say anything about it.”