Leclerc doesn’t want to rely on team orders
After the instructions that deprived Sergio Perez of fighting for victory last week in Barcelona, Charles Leclerc commented on these practices. The Monegasque does not want to rely on this kind of advantage in the fight for the title at the expense of his teammate, Carlos Sainz.
Valtteri Bottas during the 2018 Russian Grand Prix or Sergio Perez in Barcelona last week: the life of second drivers is marked by sometimes cruel team orders to favor the leader. A very common strategy that can create resentment among teammates, but can also bring valuable points to the number one driver.
Since the beginning of the season, Ferrari has not wanted to favor Charles Leclerc, even though he was leading the championship in the first five races, against Carlos Sainz, who has been struggling more this season. In contrast, Red Bull doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice Sergio Perez’s chances to favor the reigning champion, Max Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc revisited this strategy by specifying that he did not want to rely on this kind of instructions to win the championship.
« Red Bull clearly indicated what their intentions are, and they did so very early in the season. But as far as we are concerned, I don’t know, I haven’t talked about it with Mattia [Binotto] and I haven’t heard anything about it for now. » explains the Monegasque.
« But once again, I think it’s just a matter of time before Carlos [Sainz] joins us and becomes more comfortable with the car. But I don’t want to rely on that either. I just want to do the job in the car. And if we’re strong enough, we’ve already shown that we can win races anyway. » continues Leclerc.
If Ferrari has not yet issued instructions to favor Leclerc, the situation may however evolve during the season to enable the Monegasque to compete for his first championship title.
