Formula 1

Sainz and Leclerc dismiss media speculation and remain committed to team’s improvement

Published

1 week ago

16/03/2023

Ferrari has been plagued by rumors of internal conflicts, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have dismissed them as baseless. Despite a challenging start to the 2023 season, the team remains focused on improving their on-track performance and achieving their goals.

Charles Leclerc has stated that the majority of the rumors regarding internal conflicts at Ferrari are baseless, following a challenging start to the 2023 season.

Despite starting off strong in 2022, winning two of the first three races, Leclerc’s hopes for a third-place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix were dashed due to an electrical problem, leaving him far behind the leading Red Bulls.

After the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Italian media scrutinized Ferrari intensely, leading to rumors of more high-profile departures.

The exit of head of vehicle concept David Sanchez compounded the loss of other key figures from the team over the winter, following the resignation of team boss Mattia Binotto in November. However, new Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur attempted to dispel talk of internal turmoil ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and the team’s drivers echoed his sentiments during a press conference in Jeddah on Thursday.

Leclerc revealed that he had seen the rumors about internal conflicts within Ferrari after the Bahrain Grand Prix, and initially had concerns about how the team would respond to them.

However, after attending a meeting with all the Ferrari employees in Maranello, he was pleasantly surprised by the team’s reaction. Despite already facing a grid penalty this weekend due to reliability issues in Bahrain, Leclerc remained optimistic about the team’s ability to bounce back.

In addition to the team-wide meeting, there were reports that Leclerc had a one-to-one meeting with Ferrari president John Elkann to seek reassurance about the team’s direction.

Leclerc emphasized the importance of everyone working together towards a common goal, and was pleased to see that the team remained positive and committed to that goal.

When asked by F1Lead about whether he had sought reassurances from Elkann, Leclerc denied it, stating that the rumors were “absolutely untrue”. Leclerc also commented on the numerous rumors surrounding the team, noting that the majority of them were unfounded.

Leclerc expressed his frustration regarding the source of the rumors and stated that he didn’t want to waste energy trying to identify their origin. Instead, he emphasized the need for the team to concentrate on improving their on-track performance and not be distracted by external voices or reports.

Leclerc acknowledged that it was only the first race of the season and there were many more to come. He emphasized the need for the team to fight hard and push themselves to get back to the top of the rankings.

Leclerc also acknowledged that Ferrari is subject to intense scrutiny when things don’t go well, but emphasized the importance of the team focusing its energy on internal improvement and pushing in the right direction to come back stronger.

Leclerc expressed his eagerness to get back on the track and put an end to the media speculation surrounding Ferrari. He believed that the image portrayed by the media did not accurately represent the team’s true situation.

Similarly, Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz commented that the team’s situation was much better than what the news had been making it sound like. He further added that certain elements of the media were attempting to destabilize the team.

Sainz acknowledged that there had been numerous rumors surrounding the team in the past week, giving the impression that the team was in a difficult situation. However, he emphasized that the team was fully aware of what needed to be improved and had clear targets for the short, medium, and long term.

Sainz expressed his surprise at how some individuals have attempted to destabilize the team, calling it a crisis after just one race. He acknowledged that the team was not satisfied with their performance in the first race and was determined to improve.

Sainz noted that the team was committed, focused, and had a clear target in mind, and he himself was included in that group. Despite the pressure and attention from the media, Sainz remained calm and confident in the team’s ability to bounce back.

Sainz admitted that Ferrari was caught off guard by their race pace compared to Red Bull and the reliability issues that impacted Leclerc’s performance in the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, he did not believe that there was a systemic problem that was holding the team back.

According to Sainz, the team needs to raise its bar to compete at a higher level, but the competition is equally improving, making it challenging to progress relative to the rest of the field. He further explained that the progress made by Ferrari from 2021 to 2023 was significant, and the team was continuously becoming stronger. Sainz believed that the team needed to keep pushing and improving to achieve its goals.

Sainz believes that the assessment of Ferrari’s performance should be done later in the year, closer to the end of the season. He noted that development and the ability to learn from mistakes were crucial for the team’s success.

According to Sainz, the team has clear targets for improving the car, and they have identified the areas where the car needs improvement. He is confident that the team will perform well in terms of development this year and will work hard to make the necessary improvements to the car.

Sainz also mentioned that the car is responding well on track and in the wind tunnel, which is a positive sign for the team’s development efforts.