The controversy surrounding Charles Leclerc’s tirade over the team radio during the Las Vegas race continues to stir emotions even days after the event. Although the Monegasque driver had calmed down immediately after the race, team boss Frédéric Vasseur indicated that a discussion would still be held. David Coulthard is pleased with the Frenchman’s approach to this chaotic situation.
Charles Leclerc was, to put it mildly, not pleased with the outcome of his race in Las Vegas. The Monegasque driver was leading his teammate Carlos Sainz on the track during the final stages of the race. Ferrari promised Leclerc that the Spaniard would not overtake him, but Sainz did so in turn four nonetheless. Leclerc voiced his complaints about the overtaking maneuver in an unprecedented tirade after the race.
Ferrari team boss Frédéric Vasseur responded calmly to his driver’s tirade after the race, indicating that the ‘chaotic situation’ within the team would be discussed. Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard is a strong advocate of the French team boss’s handling of the situation.
“(Vasseur) has been around so long that when a driver is furious about a strategy, he doesn’t engage in it, he doesn’t try to hide from it either,” Coulthard shares in the Drive to Wynn podcast. “I really despise it when press officers or team bosses try to lie to us in a political way by saying: ‘there’s nothing to say about it’. Of course, there’s something to say!”
Conversation with Leclerc
The former Red Bull driver also thinks he knows what Vasseur will say to Charles Leclerc. “He’s going to have a chat with Charles, isn’t he? He will then say: ‘Mate, follow your instructions, you’re being paid by the team, if you don’t like it, go somewhere else’,” Coulthard says. “‘These are the circumstances that led us to make the decision we made. We have all the information, you don’t, just keep it in over the radio until we have a conversation afterwards’.”
