It wasn't a weekend easy for Charles Leclerc in Las Vegas. After a subdued qualifying, Ferrari's number 16 crossed the finish line in fourth place, behind Carlos Sainz. Leclerc let loose a polemical post-race attack against his teammate. An outburst that seems to be the result of a series of things that went wrong in Nevada.
In Las Vegas Leclerc has to settle for fourth place
Leclerc is like this: strict with himself and with the team when necessary. Above all, however, transparent in his statements. In fact, what he feels inside can be read in his eyes, even though he always tries to contain himself with words. But "words are important", as Nanni Moretti said, especially in this 2024 season, with the FIA ready to shred the incriminating audio and to present penalties, fines and community service at the first out of place word. Now, as this article is about to be written, there are many ricochets on the issue via social media. Many, especially on what Leclerc let slip on the radio with his engineer, Bryan Bozzi. And yet, however, we must know how to analyze the issues by going beyond, dwelling on the context that forms the backdrop to the events, in Formula 1 as in any other type of news. A driver, carried away by the competitive spirit and disappointment can let himself go with a few too many comments: we must accept it.
Too much because in reality, what happened on the track was not so serious. After the second pit stop, Leclerc found himself behind Hamilton, who had already flown in pursuit of Russell, and ahead of Carlos Sainz. The latter was now riding on hot tyres, also new but already confident with the track. Despite this, the Ferrari pit wall, as Bozzi declared on the radio to Leclerc, asked the Spanish driver not to put pressure on his teammate and, above all, not to overtake him. On the track, however, exactly the opposite happened, with Sainz who, decidedly faster than the Monegasque, overtook the latter. The behaviour of number 55 did not go down well with Leclerc who, at the end race, had to settle for fourth place just off the podium.
Lots of things went wrong for Leclerc in the race: terrible first stint with medium tyres
Charles' outburst, which continued with more calm tones in the post-race, seems to have its origins elsewhere. Because when Leclerc doesn't get what he tries to fight for, his blood becomes poisoned. Free practice had already not gone as he had hoped. Same thing in qualification, with the Monegasque also seeing himself overtaken by the excellent Gasly. He started from fourth, as was the position in which he crossed the finish line. Not the result he was hoping for. Especially since Leclerc is currently playing for the title of vice world champion with Lando Norris.
So much energy that, as he is doing, Leclerc will have to learn to manage better, especially in a probable and future fight for the title. Like Verstappen, Charles will have to learn to manage himself better on the track. The number 16 has made great strides forward since he arrived at Ferrari in 2019. Proof of this is the great performance he gave to the fans during this year's Monza GP. Today, however, it didn't go that way. After another excellent start that saw Leclerc go from fourth to second in a corner, the Monegasque, precisely in the heat of overtaking Russell, forced his medium tyres too much. This made him vulnerable first to Sainz and then Verstappen, with both overtaking him in a few laps.
Leclerc after the race: “From now on I will focus on myself”
The pit stop was brought forward a bit for all those who had mounted the medium tyres, but perhaps with more patience Leclerc could have got the better of Carlos Sainz at the end of the race, earning a few more points for the battle with Norris. Many things went wrong. Which, if added to the fiery temperament of the Ferrari driver, then led to the outburst on the radio at the end of the race. Finally, he was harsh on the Leclerc issue to the microphones of Mara Sangiorgio who, despite not going into details, it was impossible for him not to let his bitterness towards his teammate shine through.Yes, but I won't go into detail. Why am I not happy? Because there are some things that we say to each other and today they went a little differently. But it's okay like this, in the end we did third and fourth and for the team it doesn't change anything.".
A lot of frustration also, as mentioned, because of the battle between him and Lando Norris, with the Englishman at the end of the race, having set the fastest lap, taking the lead 21 points ahead of the Ferrari driver. "I'm sorry for the drivers' championship also because I'm fighting with Norris. I know I have to rely on myself, do everything perfect. And yes, now going forward I will focus on myself and try to maximize“. Crucial were therefore those first laps in which the stint on the mediums did not go as Ferrari and Leclerc would have hoped. “I tried to be more aggressive. In the end the result is that we lost a lot in the first stint, while in the other two we were among the fastest, if not the fastest. But on the mediums I struggled a lot. The problem is that I didn't have any signs before losing the front”.
In short, an unconvincing weekend in Nevada for Leclerc, who will have to sort things out with his teammate before flying to Qatar. The team will have time to analyze what happened and, despite what was said, Leclerc will realize he exaggerated. From Wednesday all this will be just a distant memory.
