Charles Leclerc gave a steely gaze as he was interviewed.
Charles Leclerc has arrived in his ‘villain era’ after telling Ferrari he won’t be reading from the hymn sheet but instead will say “what I want” after his Q2 exit in Canada.
Ferrari’s title credentials had been the subject of much discussion as they arrived at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for round nine of the F1 2024 World Championship, following their victory at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Ferrari fail to make it past Q2 in Canada
Although still behind Red Bull, Leclerc was just 31 points adrift of Max Verstappen after Monte Carlo with Ferrari a mere 24 points down on Red Bull in the race for the teams’ title.
The keywords and expectations were loudly pronounced, shifting from ‘favourites’ for Canada to the ‘F1 2024 title fight’.
And then Ferrari fumbled.
Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to advance from Q2 on Saturday despite being less than a tenth of a second behind the 10th position in that session. Consequently, they qualified in the 11th and 12th positions.
Leclerc participated in the mandatory post-session media obligations where Ferrari handed him the script to follow. However, he expressed his strong disagreement with their approach.
After displaying the key notes to him, he confidently informed the Ferrari press officer, “I will express my thoughts freely,” and proceeded to do exactly that.
Despite the Ferrari press officer’s attempt to guide Charles Leclerc on what to say before the interview, Charles confidently asserted, “I will express my own thoughts,” as he swiftly took hold of the microphone.
pic.twitter.com/U9NCfsluAs
— Ferrari News (@FanaticsFerrari) June 8, 2024
One fan commented, “He is currently embracing his villain era,” while another expressed, “It’s great to see him doing well.”
Another X user argued that the era of Ferrari controlling the narrative is a thing of the past. They mentioned that Fred, presumably someone influential, would encourage Charles to express his thoughts openly, and they understood why Charles would be upset.
“We have transitioned from dominating Monaco and possessing a vehicle capable of contending for the championship, to presently struggling to secure even a single point.”
When confronted by the media, Leclerc expressed, “I was simply slow throughout the day. I encountered similar problems to this morning, including an irritating sensor issue. Additionally, I believe the session was poorly managed.”
In summary, this session has been challenging overall. The major issue we are facing is the slow pace in dry conditions, which we are struggling to comprehend.
“It feels quite unusual to transition from a highly successful weekend in Monaco, where we had excellent pace, to arrive here and find ourselves at a disadvantage. We will investigate the matter thoroughly.”
Not only did he speak candidly to different media factions, but he also didn’t hold back during his interview with Sky Italia.
In an interview with the Italian broadcast, Leclerc expressed his frustration, stating, “I’m feeling quite irritated… Today, our pace was lacking. It seems like we had a lack of grip, and unfortunately, we are uncertain about the cause.”
We consistently ranked between 8th and 12th place every time we hit the track. It is crucial for us to comprehend the reasons behind this performance.
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