Another year and we have witnessed another disaster in Monaco by Ferrari. The Italian team hampered their poster boy’s home race before it even began. With this debacle, Charles Leclerc officially continued his curse in Monaco. However, on this occasion, Leclerc’s bad luck wasn’t limited to him alone, as he hampered Lando Norris’s qualifying session as well and Leclerc is paying for his transgressions with a hefty penalty considering the streets of Monaco.
For the unaware, the Ferrari man was caught napping in the tunnel section of the track while Norris was on a flying lap. Leclerc did not take any evasive maneuver to avoid the potentially dangerous clash. This resulted in Norris pulling away from the lap and earned Leclerc a lot of criticism. The Brit also communicated his frustration toward Leclerc in a post-Quali interview with Sky Sports as quoted by Formula Passion.
“Will there be a penalty for Charles? I would say yes, I expect that most likely there will be,” Norris ruled, without hesitation. “There is the team that should think about these things, but you too in the car should notice it.” (Translated by Google)
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Read More: Unlike Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc Finds Respite
That’s not all. Leclerc also earned a three-place grid penalty knocking him down to P6. On a track like Monaco, this will cost the Monegasque dearly during the race.
A lot of people are backing Leclerc to become a world champion. However, this is already not the first setback Leclerc has faced at the hands of his team in the current campaign. This is exactly why he is being advised to take more control.
Charles Leclerc advised to take more control to achieve his goal with Ferrari
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Leclerc often finds himself at the mercy of his team whenever there is an important call to be made during a race. The team sometimes makes calls that are not in his favor. This scenario, according to Damon Hill, needs to change, and Leclerc needs to take more charge, like his compatriots.
“He [Charles Leclerc] wasn’t asked about his preference, and that wrong strategy made him at a disadvantage with his teammate, That’s why Max is so strong. I’ve heard similar things about George Russell about it, even Carlos Sainz at Ferrari. Pilots like Fernando Alonso are directing the team through the cockpit. If a team isn’t bothered by the strategy either way, then it’s possible to get what you want, but you need to think fast,” said Hill.
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Taking more charge and control of his team and race decisions could be the difference between Leclerc fighting for a race win and getting a race win. However, for now, the Monegasque will be focusing on damage control in his home race.