Charles Leclerc at centre of new team radio rant with Ferrari ‘nightmare’ in his sights

Leclerc captured the attention in the aftermath of last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix when he was heard delivering a foul-mouthed rant on the cooldown lap.

Charles Leclerc in new team radio rant in Qatar GP sprint qualifying

The Ferrari star had been left unhappy after team-mate Carlos Sainz overtook him on track to take the final podium position in third place, having been assured that his team-mate would not attack him as he exited the pits.

Leclerc said over the radio at the chequered flag: “Yeah, I did my job. But being nice f**ks me all the f**king time. All the f**king time. It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful.

“I know I need to shut up, but at one point it’s always the same so…oh my f**king god.”

Charles Leclerc vs Carlos Sainz: Ferrari head-to-head stats for F1 2024

???? F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

???? F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

The clash between the drivers reportedly saw Leclerc and Sainz “immediately summoned” to the office of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, with the boss keen to maintain team harmony with the Scuderia still in with a chance of winning the Constructors’ Championship.

Leclerc and Sainz confirmed on Thursday in Qatar that they had held clear-the-air talks as they seek to close the 24-point deficit to McLaren in the Constructors’ standings.

Ferrari’s title hopes suffered a fresh blow in sprint qualifying in Lusail, where Sainz and Leclerc could only manage fourth and fifth respectively as McLaren driver Lando Norris stormed to pole position.

With Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri starting third, McLaren could seal the teams’ championship in Qatar at a circuit where the fast, flowing layout favours the MCL38 car.

And an untelevised piece of team radio footage has unearthed the moment Leclerc got hot under the collar once again, with traffic issues proving stressful for the 27-year-old during sprint qualifying.

“It’s a nightmare, I have no idea,” Leclerc is heard saying over team radio during the session. “Tell me a bit more about cars behind, because I have no idea what’s going on.”

Informed by his race engineer Bryan Bozzi that Piastri is around seven seconds behind him on track, Leclerc snaps back: “Tell me the cars that are fast, please.”

Bozzi replies: “Yeah, Charles. I know. There are many cars, I’m trying my best. Piastri five [seconds behind].”

Speaking after the session, Leclerc conceded that Ferrari’s qualifying result came as a disappointment after he set the pace in FP1 in Qatar, with an advantage of four tenths over Norris’s McLaren.

He said: “Not good, because when you give it all obviously and we are only P4 and P5 it’s not great considering how important this weekend is for us.

“But let’s say that for whatever reason, FP1 was a lot above our expectations. This, I’ll say, is in line with what we expected, so we’re coming back to reality.

“Obviously, after FP1, there were hopes that that we could do something better, but we didn’t.”

Asked if there is any hope of Ferrari challenging McLaren for victory in the sprint, he added: “If we look at FP1, clearly yes. If we look at qualifying, no.

“For now, the most representative [session] is quali, so we are not in the best position.

“But we never know. It’s always different on the race day.”