Charles Leclerc fell victim to yet another Ferrari miscommunication as the Monegasque driver fumed at his team over their conflicting strategy with teammate Lewis Hamilton.
On a day where Hamilton enjoyed a stellar race at Imola to spare Ferrari’s blushes, bouncing back from disappointment in qualifying to rise from 12th to fourth, Leclerc was left reeling.
He lost out in the safety car period and after a skirmish late on with Williams’s Alex Albon, Leclerc was forced to give up two places in the closing laps.
He expressed his frustration over the radio, saying: “This is unbelievable. All the time I get f***ed with these virtual safety cars.”
Leclerc ended up finishing just inside the points but two places behind Hamilton, frustrated by only notching sixth after another disastrous qualifying effort.
What didn’t help his cause was another incident of internal confusion on the track, which saw Leclerc have to forfeit going into the pit for a desired change of tires.
Just behind Hamilton, Leclerc asked if he could box to put on soft tires. His team replied: “Hamilton does not want to box,” to which Leclerc hit back: “I don’t care, I don’t care. We are speaking about ourselves.”
Ferrari then pressed Leclerc for a definite answer on whether he wanted new soft tires, to which he responded: “Yes.”
His team promptly tell Leclerc to box as he approaches the pit lane, only for the Monegasque to see Hamilton – who apparently had no intention to box – turn off the track and go into the pits.
This forced Leclerc to abandoned his much-requested pit stop as he evoked a confused and frustrated reaction.
Over the radio, he said: “Wait, why?! I haven’t pitted because Lewis has pitted. I’m not going to wait behind him and lose more positions.” To this, his team responded: “Now we have to stay out.”
This miscommunication has been indicative of the turbulent campaign Ferrari have endured, with similar confusion witnessed at previous GPs this season.
While Hamilton’s impressive recovery meant much of the team left Imola with a smile, he and Leclerc remain fifth and sixth in the driver championship standings, with the latter a mountainous 85 points off leader Oscar Piastri.
