Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc let his frustration out on the team radio after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as they denied his request to do some burnouts. Leclerc has clashed with the team multiple times this season, and his reaction on Sunday summed up how he feels.
Leclerc finished second behind Max Verstappen in the final GP of the 2023 season, and did everything he could to boost Ferrari’s ranking in the Constructors Championship.
Ferrari finished four points behind Mercedes as George Russell made his way onto the podium despite their best efforts to keep him in fourth place. Leclerc allowed Red Bull driver Sergio Perez to pass him during the race as he still had a five-second penalty to serve, and Ferrari hoped their driver could overtake again and leave Russell stuck behind.
Their efforts failed and Leclerc was dejected at the end of the race, with his mood continuing as he stood on the podium next to Verstappen and Russell. It was picked up on the team radio that Leclerc had been denied some fun after racing action had finished for 2023, and the driver swore in frustration.
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“I do some burnouts?” Leclerc said after the race, in what would be his final time in the car until next season. “No, no burnouts,” the team replied. “For f*** sake, not even this?” Leclerc shouted back.
Leclerc ended up finishing fifth in the Drivers Championship with 206 points – tied with Fernando Alonso who scooped up fourth. As the Aston Martin driver had eight podiums to Leclerc’s six, he earned fourth place ahead of the Ferrari driver.
Tensions between Leclerc and Ferrari have remained throughout the season, with Monegasque driver first voicing his frustration in June. Leclerc questioned Ferrari’s strategy ahead of the Canadian GP, as they denied his request to use dry tyres in qualifying and he ended up starting 10th on the grid.
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“When the track is so dry and we are staying on intermediates, we are not making our life any easier,” Leclerc told Sky Sports F1. “We will discuss with the team but it’s not the first time it’s happened.”
F1 broadcaster Martin Brundle also speculated that Leclerc was at breaking point with Ferrari during the Las Vegas GP, as they opted not to pit their driver during a safety car and didn’t tell him that racing competitors Verstappen and Perez had both been pulled in by Red Bull.
“Leclerc has failed to win from his last 12 pole positions,” Brundle said. “You could see the penny drop when in the cool-down Rolls Royce he realised that both Red Bulls had stopped for fresh tyres under the second safety car on lap 26 and he hadn’t.”
Ferrari’s deal with Leclerc expires at the end of the 2024 season, but an extension is yet to be agreed. “I have always loved Ferrari and I would love to stay,” Leclerc told the BBC. “I’ve always made it very clear that my goal is to try to be a world champion.”
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