Charles Leclerc isn’t giving up and explains: “I always say we need to understand, and I get that it’s frustrating to hear.”
Frustrated by a podium that at times seemed within reach, but not as bitter as yesterday: Charles Leclerc showed up in front of the cameras tired, but aware he gave everything for a Prancing Horse that, at least partially, roared again today.
Charles Leclerc’s Words
Mara Sangiorgio opened with the first question: “You spoke with Carlo Vanzini before the race, saying you wanted to have a race with heart. I really think it was, in every sense: from the initial fight to everything that happened, including the bad luck – a series of moments that didn’t go your way…”
Charles Leclerc: “Yes, and that’s exactly what frustrates me the most. I know I gave it my all, I know I put my heart into it. But that’s how it went. We had two Safety Cars at the worst possible times. The second one we couldn’t even take advantage of, because we only had the soft tyre option left. At the end, I wanted to switch to the soft, but Lewis changed his mind at the last moment and went into the pits. So I didn’t know how many positions I would lose by pitting right after him – I would have lost too much time.”
“So I decided not to take risks and salvage what I could. After the Virtual Safety Car, as I expected, it was impossible to keep them behind. I gave everything, I was right on the limit, but I have no regrets. Maybe I even helped him a bit, but on my side, I tried everything until the very end.”
Mara Sangiorgio: “Charles, allow us this question – but isn’t it time to move past ‘we need to understand’? Isn’t it time to actually do something? What kind of reaction do you expect personally from the team?”
Charles Leclerc: “I completely understand that kind of question. Even I, when I look back at what we always say in front of the cameras, I realize we often repeat: ‘We need to understand’. And yes, it’s probably frustrating to hear it over and over again. But unfortunately, that’s also the reality of Formula 1: there’s always something to understand. Maybe it sounds like the same excuse every time, and it’s normal to get tired of hearing it – especially when performance isn’t there.”
“But it’s not like we’re saying ‘we need to understand’ because we’re completely lost. There are signals, we’re analyzing things, we’re working hard, trying a lot of stuff on the simulator. Right now, we haven’t found the solution yet, but we’re putting in the work. Maybe I should stop saying it so much, but it’s the truth.”
Mara Sangiorgio: “One last thing: do you still have faith in this group, after seven years?”
Charles Leclerc: “Yes. Yes, yes. I have faith. And we all need to have it. We need to push until the end, and that’s what I’ll do. I’m giving it everything, and I hope that sooner or later, this work will pay off”, he concluded.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari HP
