Ferrari Hit Rock Bottom by Treating Charles Leclerc Like a “Five-Year-Old”; Claims Senior F1 Journalist
Charles Leclerc made his Ferrari debut in 2019 and has since been deemed as the driver to win title glory back to Maranello. Unfortunately, his time so war with Ferrari has been riddled with huge blunders and immense misfortune. Leclerc hasn’t been competitive enough to challenge for the championship and senior F1 journalist Peter Windsor claims that Ferrari is the main reason behind that. On top of that, he also slams the way the Italian squad treats Leclerc.
Leclerc has always been referred to as a ‘generational talent’. He has been a lifelong Ferrari fan and realized his dream of wearing the red overalls after just a year in F1. However, by donning the Ferrari colors, a lot of expectations also come with it. Leclerc hasn’t been able to live up to them so far, and Ferrari’s sub-par car and decision-making are a huge reason behind that.
In 2022, the frustration involving Leclerc’s failed pursuit of winning a championship with Ferrari reached an all-time high. They were competitive enough to win in several races, but some mind-boggling strategy goof-ups spoiled the Monegasque’s chances. Leclerc and his fans were exasperated, and that continued all the way into the 2023 season.
Ferrari treats Charles Leclerc like a five-year-old child
Peter Windsor gave a scathing assessment of Leclerc’s current situation at Ferrari. He didn’t even point out the mistakes they made in the past. But, he feels that the way they communicate is woeful, and adds to Leclerc’s misery. Windsor went as far as suggesting that Ferrari treats Leclerc like a child.
Windsor brings up instances where his race engineer Xavi Padros states some bluntly obvious things over the radio and repeats basic instructions more than two times. This gives a clear indicator that the team isn’t confident in the way they talk to Leclerc during races.
Charles Leclerc’s last pit stop:
Xavi: “Box for hards.”
Charles: “No no, let’s go for soft!”
Xavi: “Copy that.”
Charles: “Box anyway?”
Xavi: “Box. We are going hards.”
Charles was fast on hards in the end, but…
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) June 4, 2023
“It’s kind of like a schoolmaster telling a five-year-old how to behave,” he said as quoted by F1Maximaal. “If that’s the situation with Charles, they’ve really hit rock bottom.”
Christian Horner would never mollycoddle Max Verstappen
One of the most striking things coming out of Windsor’s assessment was the comparison of Leclerc’s current situation with Verstappen. The Red Bulla ace’s communication with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is considered to be impeccably flawless. Windsor feels that Christian Horner of Lambiase would never talk to Verstappen the way Leclerc has to deal with his own team.
“Can you imagine Christian Horner telling Verstappen to drive a flawless and fast stint?” he added. “‘Max, we would like this stint to drive you clear and fast.’ What do you think Max says then?”
Admittedly, Verstappen and his team’s direct and precise conversations during races has been a key factor behind his success over the years. For Leclerc to shine too, Ferrari needs to work better on communicating with him.
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