Although the silly season of Formula 1 hasn’t even started yet, the first wild rumors are already circulating in the paddock. One of them says: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is negotiating behind the scenes with Mercedes about a change. Both the Silver Arrows and Monegasque denied this in Baku. And team boss Fred Vasseur also took a clear position in Azerbaijan.
As soon as the rumors about alleged Leclerc talks with Mercedes were in the world, they made the rounds in the big Formula 1 world. Around the race weekend in Azerbaijan, many media representatives probed and asked the parties what and how much truth there was in the reports. The answers were clear.
“There were no discussions with Mercedes,” said Leclerc himself. And Toto Wolff also denied contact with the Monegasque and said: “I didn’t have a single conversation with Charles.”
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur was also asked about a possible farewell to his number one driver on Sunday after the race. The Frenchman confirmed what the previous speakers had already asserted. “The rumors about Charles and Mercedes are bullshit. Charles says he loves Ferrari and wants to win with Ferrari,” explained Vasseur.
The reports about negotiations between the driver and the Silver Arrows are the usual “gossip” that he hears every weekend, the team boss added. “But we’re not worried [um einen Abgang Leclercs]’ affirmed Vasseur.
However, the Scuderia has to worry about their immediate sporting future. As in the first three races of the season, the Reds had no chance against Red Bull in Baku. The good quality impression that Leclerc in particular left was deceptive.
“We did everything, tried everything, but the truth is: we’re not fast enough. We just don’t have enough power,” Leclerc made a harsh judgment about his own abilities: “We may have come a little closer, but we always are still pretty far behind in race speed.”