Even though Charles Leclerc had a difficult home race in Monaco on Sunday, it was not because of Ferrari’s strategy. The Prancing Horse did the best they could but the car just did not have the pace to help the Monegasque finish any higher than sixth place. Although Leclerc was unhappy with the finish, he did believe that his team made the right calls during the race.
While speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Monaco GP, Leclerc said, “We have done mistakes on strategy in the past. I do not think this was a mistake. In those conditions, you have more probability of having a safety car, with so many cars on slicks in the rain“.
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However, with there being no safety cars, Ferrari just did not have the pace to challenge Mercedes, let alone Red Bull’s Max Verstappen or Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Leclerc eventually finished the race more than five seconds behind the Mercedes of George Russell, who also had to serve a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Sergio Perez.
Charles Leclerc has previously slammed Ferrari for their strategy calls
The 2023 Monaco GP has been one of the few occasions when Charles Leclerc has completely backed Ferrari’s strategy. Previously, more often than not, the Monegasque has been furious with the team’s calls.
One such moment took place at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this year when Leclerc had a heated exchange with his race engineer Xavi on the team radio. After Leclerc lost his position to Lewis Hamilton because of Xavi’s late radio message, the 25-year-old was left fuming.
After he saw Hamilton pass him, a furious Leclerc told Xavi, “Xavi, you need to tell me that before“. On hearing a soft response of ‘Copy‘ from Xavi, the 25-year-old added, “No, but come on!”
This was not the first time that a mistake from his team’s end has cost him valuable points as such incidents have happened on several occasions before. Among all the times when Leclerc has been furious with Ferrari, arguably none have been as bad as the situation that happened last year in Monaco.
Leclerc lost 2022 Monaco GP despite being in the lead
Charles Leclerc’s 2022 Monaco Grand Prix was nothing short of a disaster as he lost out on the win because of a terrible mistake made by Ferrari. The team had initially called the Monegasque into the pits before changing their decision at the last moment.
However, by the time Leclerc was told to stay out, it was already too late. The 25-year-old eventually lost out on the lead and finished all the way down in fourth. Considering the heartbreak that Leclerc had, he was undoubtedly fuming after the race.
When asked about the same, Leclerc told the media (as quoted by f1.com), “It was a freaking disaster today. The win was clearly in our hands: we had the performance, we had everything. I just do not really understand the call that I had and I need explanations for now“.
