Charles Leclerc’s furious Ferrari reaction on team radio reveals more frustration
The Monegasque driver finished seventh at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with the Scuderia left well behind Red Bull
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Your support makes all the difference.Charles Leclerc hit out at Ferrari once more to underline his frustration during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Monegasque driver finished seventh in a dramatic race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which saw Fernando Alonso belatedly reinstated to the podium after an Aston Martin appeal.
The result leaves Leclerc 38 points behind Max Verstappen after just two races of the Formula 1 season.
And the 25-year-old was especially upset with his race engineer Xavier Marcos Padros after communication over strategy broke down once more for the Scuderia.
Leclerc said: “Being behind like this is really ****. I don’t know what to do!”
Padros had earlier remarked: “Try to push from Safety Car Line One. Lewis Hamilton just pitted.”
And Leclerc replied: “Xavi, you need to tell me that before!”
The Ferrari garage simply replied: “Copy.”
But Leclerc wanted to reiterate his frustration, adding: “No, but come on!”
There were more woes for Ferrari after Carlos Sainz admitted Mercedes’ race pace caught them by surprise.
“Yes, I think after Friday practice, even before coming into the weekend we thought we had them,” Sainz told Sky F1 after the race when asked if he was surprised by Mercedes’ speed in Jeddah.
“And we thought we were quick, even after quali you know, with Charles’ lap that I think he did a brilliant lap and I struggled, we thought in race pace we were going to be okay. And today, we were not okay.
“So work to do, development to come. But unfortunately, we need time to bring these developments and, until they come, this is what we have.
“I think the last stint on the hard, we had two cars falling back, [so it] proves we still need to bring some upgrades.”
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