“What happened is a genuine mistake of Charles,” Mattia Binotto admits to Charles Leclerc’s ‘huge blunder’ in Paul Ricard
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Mattia and Charles
Mattia Binotto the Ferrari team Principal at the end of the French Grand Prix has revealed that what happened with Charles Leclerc during the race was all down to his own doing.
After Leclerc’s crash, a confusing radio message made people think that his incident was triggered by a throttle problem that the Monegasque incurred just before going into the barriers. However, Binotto has dismissed all the rumors by indicating that it was Leclerc’s fault.
When the race got going Charles Leclerc was immensely pressurized by Max Verstappen during the initial stages but the 24-year-old was able to hold his position.
However, everything went southwards for Leclerc on lap 18 when he spun off at turn 11 and went into the barriers. All the progress that he had made till that point went into the drain.
When Leclerc made contact with the barriers he spoke to the team via team radio and said, “I cannot go throttle.” Moreover, he faced a similar kind of issue during the closing stages of the Austrian Grand Prix and that led to the spreading of rumors regarding popping up of a recurring problem at Ferrari.
However, all the speculation was put to bed when Charles Leclerc himself accepted his mistake and Mattia Binotto later on also indicated that there was no mechanical issue behind Leclerc’s crash.
Mattia Binotto on Charles Leclerc’s crash at Paul Ricard
Mattia Binotto while discussing Leclerc during the post-race interview said, “First there was no issue with the throttle itself, [it was] nothing to do with Austria.”
“What happened is a genuine mistake of Charles which are things that may happen, and I think they do not take off how good he is as a driver and as a fantastic driver. But it was a genuine mistake.”
“What you heard on the radio was about when he was in reverse gear trying to get out from the barriers. There is a strategy, without going into all the details, that [meant] he was on the throttle, but didn’t feel sufficient torque from the engine. It was nothing wrong. Simply the strategy there.“
Binotto, moreover, explained that the throttle problem that Leclerc faced in Austria was completely resolved ahead of the French Grand Prix and that the problem was down to a sticking component.
“Normally we’re not discussing much about details on what’s happening, but what happened in Austria is very simple,” he said.
“There was a damper which was slightly sticky. Not more than that. And we already put in place some actions to avoid it for the future.”
Charles Leclerc’s DNF in Paul Ricard has put a huge dent in his challenge for the 2022 Championship and now with only 10 races left in the season, it is going to be an uphill battle for the 24-year-old. MaxVerstappen after Paul Ricard has climbed to 233 points whereas Leclerc is still stuck on 170 points.
Also Read: “I want to win in the right way,” Toto Wolff opines on his vision for Mercedes
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)