Charles Leclerc lost the lead in the F1 drivers’ standings for the first time this season at the Spanish Grand Prix after a power unit failure forced him out and Max Verstappen took his third win in a row.
Sergio Pérez, the Dutchman’s Red Bull teammate, was asked twice during the race to step aside to let Verstappen pass, leaving him a clear path to victory.
Pérez said on the radio that it was “very unfair” to give up the position to Verstappen , but later acknowledged that they were running with different strategies.
That fact reopened the debate about team orders in Formula 1 and whether teams fighting for the title should put all their spotlight on one of their drivers sooner rather than later to avoid losing points in the battle for the championship.
Had Verstappen finished second to Pérez , he would have entered the Monaco Grand Prix behind Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
The Monegasque driver expressed concern that Ferrari might use team orders, saying he would not be “the one making those kinds of decisions” and that he hoped not to rely on team orders with teammate Carlos Sainz. .
“Red Bull has made it clear what their intentions are, and they have done so very early this season,” Leclerc said. “But about us, I don’t know.”
“I haven’t talked about it with Mattia [Binotto] , and I haven’t heard anything about it so far.”
“But I think it’s only a matter of time before Carlos comes to fight with us when he feels more comfortable with the car. So I don’t know what will happen.”
“But I don’t want to depend on that either. I just want to do my job in the car. And if we’re quick enough, we’ve already shown that we can win races.”
“If we do a good enough job then I’m pretty sure the chances are there anyway.”
At this start of the course, Sainz has encountered more problems than expected to match Leclerc ‘s level. The Spanish driver retired in both Australia and Emilia Romagna, only being able to finish fourth in Spain after a spin in the opening laps of the race. Right now he is 39 points behind his teammate in the championship.
Despite this, the Monegasque has no doubts about the Spaniard’s talent and his chances of getting into the title fight, hinting that he would recover “very, very quickly”.
“He’s a very, very strong driver,” Leclerc said. “I think he’s struggling a bit more to adapt to this car, which maybe at the beginning was a bit better suited to the characteristics of my driving style.
“So I’m pretty sure that Carlos will also join the fight very, very soon. In the end, it’s also up to me to do the right job and bring Ferrari to the top.” House.
