Drive to Survive: Charles Leclerc reveals why Mattia Binotto finger-wagged him post-British GP
The Monegasque driver mentioned Binotto being frustrated to see a demotivated Leclerc after the race.
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Mattia Binotto and Charles Leclerc after the 2022 British GP
Scuderia Ferrari has switched between several Team Principles in recent years. The latest figure to get ousted from Maranello was Mattia Binotto. Binotto was promoted to the role of team boss in 2019 and led the Italian team to a title challenge in 2022. However, the season was marked with strategic blunders and unreliability. Charles Leclerc sheds light on the atmosphere behind the scenes.
After the 2022 British Grand Prix, Binotto appeared to scold Leclerc publicly. It was speculated that the Ferrari team boss was telling the Monegasque driver not to blame the team openly. However, In the latest season of Drive to Survive, Charles Leclerc has finally revealed the real reason for this incident. The 25-year-old said, “He was actually pissed off at me because I was too down, and so he was trying to cheer me up.”
Leclerc acknowledged the curiosity among the fans for this instance. He said, “Everybody was wondering why he was putting the finger like this.” Although, the 25-year-old believes Mattia Binotto was upset to see a disappointed Charles Leclerc after the race. Charles continued, “but I think he was just frustrated to see me so down after such a great race.” During the race, Ferrari failed to pit Leclerc under the safety car, causing the 25-year-old to drop down the order.
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Charles Leclerc talks about Binotto’s leadership at Ferrari
Further, the Monegasque driver highlighted the decision-making at the Scuderia. The 25-year-old did not hesitate to point the finger at the former Team boss. Charles said, “Mattia is the boss, he’s the one thinking about the team orders, he’s the one choosing what’s right for the team.” Consequently, Charles Leclerc mentioned the dictatorial way of team management. He continued, “we just have to … deal with it.”
The Drive to Survive crew questioned the Monegasque driver about having any exceptions to ignore Mattia’s decisions. Unfortunately, Leclerc denied such possibilities. The 25-year-old said, “There‘s no exceptions to avoid it, no.” Thus it seems that Charles Leclerc was not fully satisfied with Binotto’s leadership at Maranello. Perhaps Fred Vasseur‘s role as F1 Team boss can help improve things for the 25-year-old.
Charles Leclerc finally answered the questions that fans had been waiting for. Mattia Binotto tried to motivate Leclerc after the British Grand Prix, rather than scolding the 25-year-old. Yet, it seems that Charles is glad to have a new Team Principle at Ferrari as Vasseur seeks to bring about major changes at Maranello in a bid to finally have Ferrari win the world championship again.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2435 Articles Published)