“Charles Leclerc Needed to Hold Off George Russell a Little More”: Christian Horner Claims Ferrari Star Did Half-Hearted Job on Sunday

Charles Leclerc tried to show his presence of mind at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend when he allowed Sergio Perez an easy pass. Since the Mexican had a five-second penalty, the Monegasque hoped that the Red Bull driver would pass him and then open a more than five-second gap to George Russell to finish on the final step of the podium. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that while Leclerc had the right idea, the Ferrari driver did a half-hearted job.

Speaking about this, Horner said as per The Race, “They only half-did the job! They let Checo through but – as Checo has demonstrated before in that part of the circuit – you can hold up someone by quite a bit of time there. Charles needed to hold off George a little more to get that extra second.”

The Red Bull boss pointed out how Perez helped Max Verstappen close the gap to Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The move, in the end, went on to help Verstappen win his first-ever Drivers’ title. Although it might have worked for Verstappen and Red Bull back then, it didn’t do the same for Leclerc and Ferrari.

With Russell going on to finish a second ahead of the required time, the Briton helped Mercedes secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Now, after losing the opportunity to secure P2 for Ferrari, Leclerc hopes to have a better 2024 campaign.

Charles Leclerc gearing up for 2024 after a forgettable year

After winning four races in 2022, Ferrari expected their 2023 to be better where they would be able to take the fight to Red Bull. However, not only did the Italian outfit fail to beat Red Bull, but they also lost P2 to Mercedes. After a forgettable year, Charles Leclerc now has his focus on 2024.

The Monegasque driver opened up about it in the post-race press conference where he outlined the improvements his team needs to make. The 26-year-old expects the Ferrari engineers to be consistent. He mentioned in the press conference that 2023 was strange as Ferrari were quick in one week and then very slow in another.

Therefore, Ferrari are all set to bring an entirely new concept in 2024 to close the gap with their rivals. However, Red Bull are still expected to be the favorites next season.