“I Was Asked Not to Fight”: Unhappy Charles Leclerc Reveals Fred Vesseur Favored Carlos Sainz at Australia

Ferrari had its first one-two finish in Melbourne since the 2022 season opener in Bahrain. Carlos Sainz took the win, followed closely by his teammate Charles Leclerc in second. However, Charles later confirmed that he had been told by the team not to overtake Sainz. And so, the obvious question arises. Could Leclerc have taken the win instead of Sainz had it not been for the team orders? Probably not, as Leclerc admitted during the press conference ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz started the Australian Grand Prix on the front row alongside world champion, Max Verstappen and took away the lead from him on the second lap. However, a couple of laps later, Verstappen suffered a rear right brake issue that allowed Sainz to maintain the lead and control the race from lap 5 onward when Verstappen finally retired from the race.

However, during Leclerc’s second stint on fresh rubber tires, it looked like the Monegasque had the pace to challenge the race leader, Sainz. But Ferrari intervened giving team orders and told Leclerc to maintain the second position. When asked by the media during Thursday’s press conference in Japan if he was free to race Carlos in Melbourne, a dejected Leclerc responded, “At one point I was asked not to fight and honestly, it made sense. I don’t think that in any case, I would have had the opportunity because Carlos and I found ourselves with slightly different strategies.”

“At one point in the race, when I had new tires, I could have pushed more, but at the same time I knew I having to complete a lot of laps on that set of tires, so I think it made sense for everyone not to overdo it. And, anyway, considering the positions I qualified for, I don’t think I would have made it,” he added.

Of course, the drivers are told to say certain things in the media as part of their PR training. However, Leclerc didn’t miss the chance to hit back at those who had been asking tough questions.

Charles Leclerc reminds the media of his form before the Australian Grand Prix

The last 2 wins for Ferrari have come from Carlos Sainz, despite Leclerc being the favored driver by the team. And regardless of Leclerc’s strong performances, some fans are questioning why he hasn’t been able to win himself. After all, Before Sainz’s win in Australia, Leclerc had been consistently qualifying on the front row for seven consecutive races.

Acknowledging his recent defeats to Sainz in Australia and Bahrain, Leclerc took full responsibility for his performance, particularly in qualifying, which is usually his strength. He admits to making mistakes on Saturday that impact his chances on race day. However, Leclerc remains optimistic about his abilities and acknowledges the need to learn from his errors.

He said, “Carlos has done an amazing job in the two opportunities we had, and now it’s up to me to react and to hopefully win the next one. At the end of the day, I think in Formula 1 very quickly people tend to forget and everything is based on the last race. But if I look at my last eight, or nine races, I think they have been at a very good level. However, in most of those races, the car was not possible to win. But it’s up to me to be there whenever there is the opportunity that arises.”

Max Verstappen will be itching to get back to his winning ways at Suzuka, do you think the Ferraris can stop the Dutchman? Share your insights in the comments down below.

READ MORE: Charles Leclerc: “[Carlos] Sainz Beats Me and Then I Push to Beat Him”