Charles Leclerc has said that he does not want to be reliant on team orders to maintain his title charge in the 2022 F1 season.
His comment come after Sergio Perez was told by Red Bull to let Max Verstappen pass him when he was leading the Spanish GP.
Speaking in an interview with racingnews365.com, the Monegasque confirmed that no discussion regarding team orders had taken place between him and team principal Mattia Binotto. He said:
“I will definitely not be the one making those types of decisions. Red Bull have made it clear, what are their intentions. And they did it very early in the season. Concerning us, I haven’t spoken about it with Mattia [Binotto], and I haven’t heard anything about it. I don’t want to rely on that either.”
Leclerc, who won two of the first three rounds of the season, went on to add:
“I just want to do the job in the car. We have already shown that we can win races anyway and, if we do a strong enough job, then I’m pretty sure that the chances are there anyway.”
The 24-year-old suffered a sudden power unit failure at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, resulting in his first DNF of the season. He holds P2 in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 104 points ahead of the Monaco GP.
"He's a very, very strong driver" - Charles Leclerc backs Carlos Sainz to regain form quickly
Charles Leclerc has backed his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz and said that he will regain his form quickly.
During an interview with racingnews365.com, he was asked to share his thoughts on his teammate's recent errors and how they could impact him and the team. The Ferrari driver said:
“It doesn’t concern me because I know that Carlos [Sainz] will be back very, very quickly. I mean, he’s a very, very strong driver and he’s been struggling maybe a little bit more to adapt to this car. It fitted a little bit better my driving style maybe, at the beginning. I’m pretty sure Carlos will be in the fight very, very soon and, in the end, it’s up to me to do the right job and to bring Ferrari on top.”
Carlos Sainz currently has 65 points after six rounds of the 2022 campaign and will be hoping to pick up more points and reduce the gap between the frontrunners and himself.
For Charles Leclerc, the 2022 F1 Monaco GP will be his focus. The Ferrari driver will be hoping to finish the race for the first time in his F1 career while also trying to reclaim the championship lead from Max Verstappen.