Ex-racing driver turned pundit Mathias Lauda has slammed Ferrari for once again failing to communicate properly with their drivers, following a shocking qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix for the Italians.
It was another nightmare session for the Maranello-based team, with Charles Leclerc having failed to progress to Q3 for a second Grand Prix in a row.
Leclerc was eliminated in Q2 following a communication error with his team once again, which proved to be incredibly costly.
Ferrari failed to listen to the Monegasque who asked for Soft tyres in the opening minutes of Q2, due to there having been a dry line on the Circuit de Gilles-Villeneuve.
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Instead of accepting Leclerc’s request, the Maranello-based team instead asked their driver to set a banker lap on the Intermediate tyre, which wasn’t quick enough for a spot in the top 10.
Whilst Leclerc was setting a lap on the mixed weather compound, the vast majority of drivers were on the Soft compound.
With multiple laps having been needed to heat up the slick tyre, Leclerc lost valuable time on the Intermediates.
When he was eventually fitted with the Soft compound, rain started to fall again, meaning the circuit was no longer suitable for the dry weather tyre.
Leclerc was furious after the session, with him having insisted to the media that Ferrari are “often” on the “wrong side” when it comes to making tyre calls in “difficult decisions”.
“It’s not the first time that something like this has happened. Quite often we are on the wrong side of such decisions in difficult situations,” Leclerc said after qualifying.
“And this time it was really easy to interpret the situation.”
He insisted that discussions will be held behind-the-scenes.
Leclerc added: “We will deal with this internally. I don’t want to say what will happen, but of course there will be a discussion and an analysis.”
It wasn’t only Leclerc who suffered from Ferrari’s shocking communication, with Carlos Sainz having been awarded with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly in Q1.
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Sainz was seen impeding several drivers throughout Free Practice 3 and qualifying on Saturday, all ahead of the final chicane.
Lauda slammed for Ferrari for failing to inform Sainz about drivers quickly approaching him, with Ferrari often being guilty of miscommunication.
“It’s the team’s job to warn the drivers (about traffic). But there’s always only one team that doesn’t get it, the others can do it,” Lauda told Servus TV.