Charles Leclerc has sent a message to Ferrari to start working together as a team, with the Monegasque having warned the Italians that their wait to claim a title will continue, should Leclerc be left to make “the decisions on my own”.
A common theme of 2022 was hearing Ferrari asking Leclerc what the team should do over the radio, with the 25-year-old having often been in charge when it comes to tyre choice.
It was almost like Leclerc was having to do a million things at once, with a Ferrari’s officials having lacked responsibility.
The Ferrari driver is seemingly tired of this and ultimately wants the team to make more decisions themselves, with Leclerc having admitted that he has “little information” in the car.
READ: ‘Maybe in Jeddah’: Mike Krack fires Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll warning
Leclerc does believe Ferrari are getting better, but that in order to end their wait for a title “everybody involved is the way forward”.
“I am really vocal within the team of what I want and I think this is the right approach,” he told the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“So this I won’t change because I don’t care what people really think.
“What I care about is that I am feeling good with myself, doing the absolute best within the team to improve things. This is my main focus.
“In terms of being more vocal when I’m in the car and taking more in hand, the decision, I don’t think this is the way forward. Because people don’t understand how little information we have in the car, about the whole situation during a race.
“I strongly believe that if we get better as a team, and when I say as a team, it’s everybody involved, speaking about our strategy, looking at the strategy, this is when we will be the best altogether.
“We won’t win a World Championship if I am making the decisions on my own in the car. This is not how it works and on that I’m convinced.”
Leclerc’s 2023 campaign certainly didn’t start well, with the Monegasque having retired following yet another power unit failure, despite the team having supposedly fixed their engine woes from 2022.
READ: Andretti hire technical director amid Formula 1 entry plans
He remains adamant, though, that Ferrari are getting stronger, but that they need to “improve” on what they do wrong.
“Yes, I strongly believe [this is the best version],” he said. “And it’s the same thinking behind it. After every season, I felt like we took a step.
“We try to see and understand where we did things wrong and then just before this new season, we take actions to improve those things. So yes, of that, I’m also sure.”