“It holds little significance to me, considering it was a battle for eighth position – so it’s not a major concern, he’s welcome to that P8.”
Charles Leclerc’s discontented radio communication following the Baku race brought to mind a memorable episode from the reality show Come Dine With Me where a disgruntled participant handled their loss with remarkable lack of composure: “You emerged victorious, Jane. Enjoy your prize. I trust it will bring you considerable happiness. I hope you consider investing it in etiquette and refinement training.”
Leclerc commenced the Ferrari Formula 1 event in advance of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, notwithstanding his setback during the qualifying round due to a crash. However, he encountered an inconsistent challenge with his power unit’s energy recovery mechanism, hindering his capability to fully utilize boost functionality on the primary straightaway with each lap. Furthermore, he executed an early pit stop on lap 19 as a preventative measure against Lando Norris’ potential undercut strategy, thereby committing himself to an extended second phase on medium-compound tyres.
Subsequently, following Hamilton’s pit stop on lap 36, he capitalized on the advantage provided by his fresher tyres to progressively close the gap on his team-mate.
At this juncture, Leclerc exhibited increasing frustration and requested continuous updates from engineer Bryan Bozzi concerning Hamilton’s lap times. He ultimately conceded to a team directive, permitting his team-mate to overtake him on lap 42. Despite this, Hamilton failed to adequately approach Norris to execute a passing maneuver, leading to a request for him to relinquish the position on the final lap. However, he did not decelerate until he was nearly at the race’s conclusion.
“Did confusion arise? I don’t believe so,” stated team principal Fred Vasseur. “In our view, the situation was unequivocally clear: Lewis possessed a tyre advantage, and we instructed Charles to allow him passage with the objective of overtaking Lawson, Tsunoda, or Norris. Charles faced complications with energy recovery, and we experienced shortcomings with the engine. I deemed this the most judicious course of action.
“Subsequently, we requested an exchange of positions. It appears Lewis miscalculated the location of the start/finish line.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images
While initial assessments suggested Isack Hadjar’s proximity at two seconds behind Leclerc was a contributing element, Hamilton clarified that he was intently focused on the vehicle in advance – specifically, Norris – despite a declining probability of successfully overtaking him.
“In essence, I did release the throttle on the straight and engaged the brakes, but my misjudgment accounted for approximately four-tenths, thereby resulting in an error,” he confessed. “Therefore, I extend my apologies to Charles.”
The conclusion proved especially disappointing for Ferrari, given that both drivers believed they possessed the qualifying pace required to contend for pole position. Regrettably, they underperformed during the critical session, with Hamilton failing to optimize the capability of the challenging C6 soft tyre and Leclerc impacting the barrier during Q3.
Progress in vehicle performance convergence and refined rear-wing efficiency has mitigated the influence of DRS, making it predictably arduous to advance from 10th and 12th positions through dense traffic. Meanwhile, drivers positioned at the forefront in cleaner air conditions could more proficiently manage their tyres.
“In my estimation, the pace exhibited was satisfactory,” Vasseur commented. “The crux of the matter involves two discrete circumstances: Charles encountered complications with the engine – not to the extent of five-tenths per lap, but sufficiently impactful to confine his progress behind another competitor, thereby negating any potential for overtaking.
“Consequently, the detriment encompasses not merely the two-tenths forfeited due to the engine, but rather the cumulative effect of those two-tenths in conjunction with the distance separating him from the preceding vehicle. I infer that this posed a considerable encumbrance for Charles. However, the ultimate deduction remains consistent for both our team and Norris: any deficiency stemmed from prior events on Saturday, rather than present circumstances.
“In current terms, we initiated the race trailing Norris and concluded the race trailing Norris, as fate dictated. The pivotal moments unfolded on Saturday. I maintain that we furnished the vehicle and drivers with the requisite tools to vie for P1 across all practice sessions, yet ultimately secured qualifying positions of P10 and P12.”
