The Monegasque driver admitted to being very disappointed after the British Grand Prix, as a call to the pits for his teammate, Carlos Sainz, instead of him, ended up costing him the chance to take the victory and even took him off the podium .
This, moreover, happened after at the start of the race Ferrari did not ask Sainz to let him pass when he was apparently faster, so Leclerc felt the need to clarify what happened from the Scuderia side about the decisions. that they had taken.
Binotto ‘s strategy and intervention after the race to talk to Leclerc in the pitlane led to speculation about possible internal friction at Ferrari .
However, Leclerc said any talk of a possible split within Maranello is misplaced, explaining that there is a huge difference between being very disappointed in a result and it triggering other, bigger problems.
Responding to Motorsport.com about the rumours, Leclerc said: “This is really untrue. And I wish I didn’t have to go into (this), because this is the same question that everyone asks me. And obviously I wish I didn’t have to answer to this kind of thing.”
“We are very close. Is there disappointment after the last race because we finished first and fourth? Yes, of course there was.”
“Are we very, very happy that Carlos won his first race? Yes, really.”
“But obviously before the safety car, we were first and second… and then all of a sudden you’re first and fourth. So there’s also some disappointment. But there’s no kind of division within the team, that’s for sure.” the Monegasque.
Leclerc also confirmed that he had a private meeting with Mattia Binotto in Monaco, his town, as a result of everything that happened at the British GP.
However, he said the talks were catch-up talks, regular meetings he has with his boss off the track, and had been triggered by a recent poor run of results that was a step further behind at Silverstone.
Referring to the talk with Binotto after the race and even the most recent one in Monaco, Leclerc said: “Well, obviously there have been a lot of talks about this race in the last few days.
“First he got pretty angry with me at Silverstone , because he saw me so down, which on the other hand he also understood. But he just wanted to make sure that I was okay, and he wanted me to make him see that he had also done an incredible job considering everything he had said. happened to me.”
“Then in Monaco, this is something we usually do. It came because the last five races have been quite tough for me. And I wanted to stay home, disconnect a bit from everything, to be 100% for this weekend.”
The Monegasque believes that Ferrari is aware that they could have done a better job with their decisions at the British GP, and for this reason they have modified some of their communication protocols from this weekend so that these mistakes are not repeated. .
“Personally, I don’t think there’s anything I could have done differently,” he said. “As a team, I think we have already changed some things, at least in the form of communication throughout the race, to be better prepared at such a particular moment.”
“Once the safety car is out on track, you have to make a decision quickly, and if you’re not prepared for it, it’s very difficult. So yes, as a team, we have changed some things. And I’m not going to go into the details. “.
Asked if he had put any kind of pressure to promote team orders in order to prioritize himself in the title fight, Leclerc concluded: “It’s not for me to say anything about it.”
