“A Leader Like Charles”: Ferrari Rest Their Hopes on Their ‘No. 1 Driver’ Charles Leclerc to Fight Mercedes

The Abu Dhabi GP has been a mixed bag for Ferrari so far. While Charles Leclerc has been at the top of his game, Carlos Sainz has suffered from a miserable weekend. Now, in their fight for P2 with Mercedes, the team has put all their eggs in one basket, per reports emerging out of X.

While talking to the press at the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP, team principal, Fred Vasseur said, “We need to have a leader like Charles [Leclerc] pulling us along at the moment, it feels good.” This would come as a bitter pill to swallow for Sainz who was knocked out of Q1 and will start the race tomorrow in 16th.

Fred Vasseur : “On a besoin d’avoir un leader comme Charles qui nous tire en ce moment, ça fait du bien.” #F1 #Charles16 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/x1kqooXDaV

— CL16__FanpageFr (@Cl16__FanpageFr) November 25, 2023

Leclerc will start the race tomorrow from the front row. This will definitely put Ferrari in contention to clinch P2 from the Silver Arrows in the Constructors’ championship with only 4 points separating the two teams. Sainz on the other hand has been vying for that ‘No. 1‘ position in the team. However, with his wavering fortunes and the boss’ comments, it looks like it is too little too late for the Spaniard to sway the Ferrari camp.

Leclerc was brought into the Maranello-based team in 2019 with one express purpose in mind. It looks as though despite Sainz’s arrival that objective has not changed.

Charles Leclerc is Ferrari’s golden boy

With two world class drivers in the team, Ferrari would have been worried about the battle for supremacy and the ensuing power struggle within the garage. However, with Sainz struggling recently, Vasseur has casted his vote in terms of who is the team leader.

The Maranello-based team would surely want to build their title charge around one driver. Back in 2022, it was Charles Leclerc. However, after the summer-break this year, it looked as though Carlos Sainz was fighting to become the de facto leader of the team. After a run of poor results and a pace deficit to Leclerc, that dream is now seemingly over.

We had the car AND driver. But clearly not the priorities to support Leclerc at any cost.

All these things was said while Leclerc was fighting for the championsship, yet you still have people doubting that the real No. 1 within Ferrari is the slower driver, Sainz https://t.co/uMjDURbUIl pic.twitter.com/ugnEbBx2wK

— Bamse  (@Bamsemanden3) June 7, 2023

The Italian team has made massive strides in terms of performance to catch Red Bull. In 2024, the team will be hoping to mount a realistic challenge for the title. If the team can build  a competitive car for next year, it appears as though Leclerc will be the prime candidate to battle Max Verstappen for glory in 2024.