Charles Leclerc will reconsider his Ferrari future after Saudi Arabian GP disaster: Christian Danner
Former GP driver, Christian Danner suggests that Charles Leclerc might consider leaving Ferrari after a horrendous start to the 2023 season.
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Christian Danner, Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc has gotten a rough start to the 2023 F1 season. The Monegasque driver retired from the season opener in Bahrain after a reliability issue. Subsequently, Leclerc even took a 10-place grid penalty for Saudi Arabia. The second race did not fair any better as Ferrari fell behind Mercedes in the pecking order. Former racing driver Christian Danner shared his views about this situation.
Danner stated how the 25-year-old needs to get a competitive car during his prime years in the sport. Christian said, “Leclerc is a young man who wants to become world champion.” The German remembered that Charles Leclerc had a long-term contract with the Scuderia. He continued, “And don’t forget – he committed himself until the end of 2024.”
The former GP driver mentioned that Charles Leclerc might be contemplating his decision to stay at Ferrari. Christian stated, “I am convinced that Monegasse has long wondered whether this was the right decision” Danner pointed out the team radio during the race as an indication. He explained, “A radio communication between Leclerc and his racing engineer was significant for me”
Christian Danner referred to the conversation when Charles Leclerc’s race engineer told him to cover for Lewis Hamilton after being overtaken by the British driver. He concluded, “Having to have such discussions in a race is incredible. Ferrari on 6 and 7, in a race the Italians had hoped for so much, that’s a full disaster.”
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Charles Leclerc’s woes at Ferrari continue
The Monegasque driver joined the Scuderia in 2019 with the ambition of winning the world title. However, things have not gone well for Charles Leclerc so far. The Prancing Horse has failed to put up a real title fight in F1. In 2022, the Italian team started out by winning 2 of the first 3 races of the year. Unfortunately, the team fell back massively by the latter half of the season.
The higher-ups in Maranello are pushing the Italian team to return to its glory days. The appointment of Fred Vassuer as Team Principal was a sign of a new era for Ferrari. Vasseur has publicly stated the team’s need to accept its issues and work towards fighting its way back up to challenge arch-rival Red Bull. Charles Leclerc would be hoping that things turn around for the better over the course of this season.
Thus, Christian Danner is positive that Charles Leclerc will not shy away from considering an alternative to the Scuderia. Despite having the longest Ferrari contract in history, the Monegasque driver has failed to succeed with the team. It will be interesting to see how things pan out throughout this year if Maranello can convince its star driver to keep on racing in red.
In case you missed it:
- ‘Not better at racing,’ Charles Leclerc mocks Carlos Sainz for claiming he’s ‘better at every sport’
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Armaan Agarwal
(2310 Articles Published)