Charles Leclerc says he will accept further team orders from Ferrari “in some situations” after being told to defer to his team mate in all of the first three races.
The Ferrari driver was told to stay behind Sebastian Vettel in both of the first two races – but passed his team mate anyway in the second – and was ordered to let Vettel past during the Chinese Grand Prix.Asked if he was prepared to accept more team orders in future race Leclerc said he would so, “depending on the situation.”
“Obviously there will always be team orders in Formula 1,” he explained. “It depends on the situation. In some situations I will.”
Following the Chinese Grand Prix Leclerc had discussions with team principal Mattia Binotto about Ferrari’s policy of favouring Vettel in certain scenarios. “I did ask him, then obviously I think the answer is still the same,” he said.
“He is taking a decision on the pit wall. At the end they have a lot more data on the pit wall than I do in the car. We’ll see in the future.”
Leclerc said he understands the team’s reasons for backing his team mate in the championship.
“It’s frustrating when you are in the car when you are told to let past another driver. Obviously it is frustrating for anyone that has been driving a car that is given this instruction.
“On the other hand on my I understand them in a way. Obviously Seb is now in his fifth year with the team, has won four world championships and I’m only coming in my second season in Formula 1. So I’ve got a lot of things to prove and now it’s just up to me to do the best job possible in the car to prove [to] the team what I’m capable of.
“I think I just need to continue doing what I’m doing, trying to improve myself and hopefully it will change soon.”
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David BR (@david-br)
25th April 2019, 15:51
That landed with a bit of a thud. Leclerc makes clear he knows that he has already given Ferrari proof that he can match or (more often) drive quicker than Vettel. It will be fascinating to see how this pans out over the season.
DAllein (@)
25th April 2019, 15:54
Personally I don’t like his attitude and the attention he gets.
He is not some miracle driver for everyone to be SO worried and fussed about him.
Like Verstappen. Everyone was shouting like he is some kind of Prodigy, but in reality he largely failed to fulfill such over-expectations.
I DO NOT say they are both bad, not at all, they are good, but they are a far cry from anyone deserving such reverential following.
DAllein (@)
25th April 2019, 15:59
Besides, he joined Ferrari.
There was never such thing as equal treatment at Ferrari at least since Schumacher days…
So why anyone is so suddenly surprised or worried is beyond any explanation.
(last year’s Vettel/Raikkonen incidents have nothing to do with “equal treatment”, but are rather yet another example of poor decision making)
Mog
25th April 2019, 16:04
Interesting viewpoint. I agree in the semse that drivers are human and coloured by their cars way more than we generally give credit. None are gods, as much as fans like to think so.
But. You maligned Verstappen. Take cover, wrath shall flow.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
25th April 2019, 16:34
I always enjoy a good rant from them guys :)
Todfod (@todfod)
25th April 2019, 16:07
@dallein
I never got on the Verstappen hype train as early as 2015 or even in early 2016. In fact, I was supporting Sainz, and thought he was a good match for him. But let’s not kid ourselves… since mid 2016, Verstappen showed immense amount of talent. His drive in Brazil 2016 was a pure masterclass. He had a really solid season in 2017, and with the exception of the first 6 races of 2018, he’s probably been the best driver on the grid over the past year.
Leclerc is also a driver with a lot of potential. I didn’t jump on the Leclerc is a god bandwagon either. However, at the end of the first 3 races of this season, I can say that he’s only getting better and better.. and has already shown that he’s more than a match for his more illustrious, 4 time WDC team-mate.
I don’t know what your definition of miracle driver is .. so I can’t comment on your expectations… but let’s just say they seem to be the most promising young talents in F1 since Hamilton, Vettel, Kimi and Alonso.
rpiian (@rpiian)
25th April 2019, 16:29
Well put Todfod.
Dean
25th April 2019, 17:57
I’m not having Verstappen Brazil 16 drive as a masterclass. The guy who won put on the masterclass. Leading from the front and never putting a foot wrong in difficult conditions. Verstappen spun a very nimble RB and very nearly put it in the wall. Good drive…for sure. Masterclass? No.
erikje
25th April 2019, 16:36
Both drivers have exceptional talents and in the right car ( LEC already landed and VER in hopefully a years time) will be the new generation worldchampions. VER did not under perform and still is the number one driver according to Formula1 and EPN . LEC is not there yet but very promising.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.f1-power-rankings-verstappen-stays-on-top-as-albon-climbs.2GcXKlWAII9tR93HnVATIq.html
Hypes are made by media and show only a small part of reality. Just learn to look behind that.
petebaldwin (@)
25th April 2019, 17:53
They’re both similar to Hamilton when he started off in F1. As you say though, no one in F1 is a “miracle driver” – unless they’re in a Mercedes, none would win the Championship.
Ben (@scuderia29)
25th April 2019, 20:13
His attitude has been humble and mature, especially for someone in only his second season in f1 now in the sports most famous team. The way he handled losing that victory was great, and let’s not ignore the fact he would have finished ahead of his 4x world champ team mate every race this year was it not for team orders or reliability,
I don’t know what more he could do to impress.
JI
26th April 2019, 7:43
Amen, you hit the nail on its head
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
25th April 2019, 16:33
Yes I am selectively reading between the lines, but I don’t think he will take too much of this foolishness before going his own way. Either by just driving his own race or chatting with another team.
erikje
25th April 2019, 16:38
such as?
Mercedes is not interested. Maybe Red bull as wingman for Verstappen?
Every other team is a step back..
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
25th April 2019, 16:53
What is a miracle driver these days? Comming to top team, matching 4 time wdc in first races… Now that constitutes a miracle driver to me.
Being 3-4 tenths off would be resonable.
Being slightly ahead is somewhat great. Either Vettel is in decline or LeClerc is really good.
Dany Kvyat Will Steal Your Soul (@danykvyatwillstealyoursoul)
25th April 2019, 19:06
I think it’s a bit of both. I don’t fully buy into the whole “Vettel isn’t actually any good, he only won because Red Bull were so good” idea. I think a lot of his own mistakes over the past year and a half have been out of frustration. He gets in his own head too easily (see Germany 2018). Pair that up with a young, talented, and ultra competitive new teammate, and I think he’s headed for disaster. I wouldn’t be surprised if Seb decides to leave Ferrari or just retire once his contact is up. He just doesn’t cope well with the pressure of having a fast teammate.
Thegamer23
25th April 2019, 17:26
I mean, Leclerc is in his first Ferrari year.
The kid already disobeyed a team order in Bahrain (Wait 2 laps before attacking Vettel), and he’s always complaining on the radio.
He’s Young, he’ll probably win championships, but man. This kind of attitude will lead to big tension in the team, very soon..
Not sure that’s what Ferrari wants.
mmertens (@mmertens)
25th April 2019, 17:58
I understand that this might not be what Ferrari wants, but I believe that Leclerc never intended to be a 2nd driver (as Rubens); he knows that he can be a Champion in the future, so he’s trying to demonstrate that on track. His job is to show Ferrari he can beat Vettel. If Ferrari wouldn’t be willing to cope with this, they did wrong on hiring Leclerc. They should have kept Raikkonen. For me Leclerc has the right mentality and attitude, he’s looking to do great things, not only being a well paid 2nd driver.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
25th April 2019, 18:41
Leclerc’s frustration at being given strategies that prevent him from maximising the point scoring opportunities is understandable, but Ferrari has better things to think about than having their drivers depart from a race with the maximum points they could have got.
Robert McKay
25th April 2019, 19:05
The situation between Vettel, Leclerc and the Ferrari team orders is precisely the sort of thing they SHOULD have had to face more often in recent years but they were happy enough to bumble along with Kimi far longer than they should, who never really made that much fuss other than the odd team radio snipe, and wasn’t generally close enough to Vettel enough times in their races together for it to be a consistent problem anyway.
Situation normal is not one guy cruising along, situation normal is two guys trying to get the better of each other and the team trying to deal with that. Ask Mercedes, Force India, Haas, Red Bull…