“Loads of rumours around the team,” Charles Leclerc criticises the Italian Media, defends Ferrari
Charles Leclerc reveals that Ferrari is staying positive despite the rumours of unrest.
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Charles Leclerc. Image via SportsTiger.
There is no shortage of rumours when it comes to Ferrari. Ever since the 2023 Formula 1 season started, there have been many speculations about the unrest within the team. The Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz defended their team from the Italian media. The duo feel that the situation in Ferrari is not as bad as the media deems it to be.
As per the Italian media reports, there is commotion within the team. However, Leclerc was quick to dismiss these rumours, he called them baseless. The departure of David Sanchez, Ferrari’s head of vehicle performance contributed to the rumours as well. Last week, a report suggested that Leclerc met with Ferrari president John Elkann for assurance regarding the team’s direction.
Leclerc was asked about the report in Jeddah. He stated, “This is absolutely untrue. There have been loads of rumours around the team, which, for once, 90% of them were completely unfounded. So yeah, I don’t know where it is coming from, and to be honest, I don’t want to spend even any energy trying to find where it’s coming from. We just need to be on it and focused our ourselves.” The Ferrari driver is committed to his team.
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Charles Leclerc wants to win a championship with Ferrari
While speaking about the mood within the team, the 25-year-old stated, “I obviously saw these rumours, and then I went to Maranello, so I was at first, I was like, I’m not sure how the team is going to react to it. But then we had a meeting with the whole team, with all the Ferrari employees, and I was really surprised. Everybody is fully on it and fully positive still, which is great. We need to all push in the same direction, as I said, this is the most important to me.”
Charles Leclerc addressed the rumours and revealed that Ferrari is in good spirits. The Monegasque driver wants to win with this team. Last season was difficult for Ferrari due to reliability issues and poor strategy calls. However, they hope to fix all their issues in 2023 and focus on winning the championship this year. After all, they have the most powerful engine according to the data collected in the pre-season testing.
The season opener did not go well for the team. Leclerc had a reliability issue, and Sainz finished in fourth place. The latter could not defend against Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. As for the second race of the year, Leclerc will serve a ten-place grid penalty for taking new parts. Nevertheless, the team is in a fighting spirit.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)