Charles Leclerc calls focus on Ferrari F1 ‘not really fair’

| Getty Images One of the more famous lines from the Netflix docuseries Drive To Survive, which aims to bring fans and viewers inside the world of Formula 1, comes from motorsport analyst Will Buxton regarding Ferrari. “There are two religions in Italy. There’s the Catholic Church, and there’s Ferrari.” The team in red is a constant focus during, and after, each F1 season. And this year has been no exception. With both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc battling to chase down Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, that has led to some heated moments on the track, and over the radio, between the drivers and the team. sBut speaking ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, one of those drivers chimed in on the intense spotlight that provides. “Again, I feel like it’s being over-discussed and over-analysed when it’s about the red cars. That’s not really fair. In Monza, if you look at the four top teams, three of them had fights like this, with the car finishing in the grass, and at the end of the day the only thing we are speaking about still now is the red cars, which I don’t think is fair,” said Leclerc at the FIA Press Conference Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Leclerc was referring to an incident at the Italian Grand Prix on the opening lap between himself and Hamilton, which resulted in the seven-time Drivers’ Champion getting shuffled down the pecking order. Moments later Leclerc slid off the racing line, into the tire barrier, and out of the race. Leclerc elaborated on that opening-lap incident with Hamilton, and the aftermath, on Wednesday. “I mean, Turn 2 in Monza is something that I’ve said repeatedly, that it’s not something that we want to see ever happen again, and that’s going too far on my side. But I’ve been through it already. Yeah, I think it’s pretty clear that we don’t necessarily have to write those things. I think it’s clear enough,“ started Leclerc. Asked by host Tom Clarkson if he was “happy” with the wheel-to-wheel racing with Hamilton, Leclerc conceded that he was. “Yes, I am,” began Leclerc. “Then, of course, there have been moments where I went too far, where Lewis went too far, but I think the key in that is to discuss. “I mean, I’ve been with Ferrari since 2019 now and I know everything we do is overanalysed, over-discussed, and very often the conclusions that are taken after those kinds of fights are the wrong ones. We only need to speak with Lewis to kind of understand. We’ve been doing that all our life, so we both want to win and there’s competition, but we also want to win as a team and to make Ferrari come out on top eventually. So that is the priority. But I mean, I enjoy fighting with Lewis and that’s what is exciting in Formula 1, is to be fighting against the best, and Lewis is definitely up there. So, for me it’s a big challenge, but I’m enjoying it.” As for Leclerc’s chances this weekend, the driver noted that while he has enjoyed success during qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, wins have eluded him at the Baku City Circuit. But he added that he hopes the team can “fix that” for this season. “Well, I don’t know, but surely this year qualifying is probably where we struggle the most in terms of car performance. So, if we are in front in qualifying, then I’m hopeful for the race,” said Leclerc. “But before thinking about that, I think we’ve got to prepare the weekend as we should. And with this year’s car as well, it seems that there’s a lot of variability from one weekend to the other, just based on the optimisation of your power unit. And on a track like this, it will play a big role as well. So, I think that’s where we should focus. Then it’s surely a track that I enjoy driving and that has been good for me on the Saturday mostly, but the races have been more challenging. “So hopefully we can fix that for this year.” Leclerc and the rest of the grid take to the track on Thursday this week, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix slated for Saturday.

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