Charles Leclerc explains heated interaction with his race engineer during the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP 

Charles Leclerc believes his engineer Xavier Marcos Padros informed him too late about his rivals pitting under the safety car during the Saudi Arabian GP. The 25-year-old explained that his heated exchange with the engineer was because they lost out to many cars due to an odd tire choice.

Explaining the radio exchange between himself and Xavier to on-site media including Sportskeeda, Charles Leclerc said:

“Yeah well I thought we were clear and we were not fighting with anybody so I was trying to take a bit of gap to actually push on the tyres. But then Xavi told me a bit, just before the first corner that we were fighting Hamilton, so I was too late on being on the limit of the delta.”

The Ferrari driver believes he was informed too late about the situation ahead with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz. Losing out to the safety car and drivers who benefited from a free pitstop, Charles Leclerc dropped to seventh and was stuck behind his teammate for the rest of the race.

The Monegasque driver explained that he was under the impression that he could preserve his tires without having to fight anyone. Caught unaware by the safety car and unable to push more on the soft tires, he fell behind.

The radio exchange between Charles Leclerc and his engineer Xavier Marcos Padros was as follows:

Questioning his engineer about using the soft tire amidst a field of cars on mediums, the Monegasque said:

“So we are the only car on soft?”

His engineer replied:

“Only Norris at the back, P19.”

When his soft tires started to lose performance, Xavier said:

“The only car we will lose to is Max”

After the safety car benefited many in the grid, Xavier said:

"Try to push from Safety Car line On for Lewis Hamilton, he just pitted.”

Responding to Xavier, an angry Charles Leclerc said:

“Xavi, you need to tell me that before.”

Xavier replied:

“Copy”

Responding to Xavier’s dull response, the Ferrari driver said:

“No, but come on!”

Unable to close the gap to Sainz after dropping to seventh place, he exclaimed:

“Being behind like this is really s***. I don’t know what to do. I’m not going to push anymore.”

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Charles Leclerc feels seventh place was the best he could finish in the Ferrari in Jeddah

Charles Leclerc feels there was not much more he could have done with his car in Jeddah. The Ferrari driver complained about the loss of downforce after being stuck behind Sainz and the lack of performance to challenge his own teammate during the closing stages of the race.

Summarising his race in Jeddah to media including Sportskeeda, Charles Leclerc said:

“A good first stint, a good start, I think we had good management on the soft which was positive. Then on the hard, I got within a second, one lap to Carlos within the DRS. Then unfortunately I lost the DRS and then from that moment onwards, we were losing too much downforce.. from one second to one and a half. And I was just staying there for the rest of the race. Honestly, there wasn’t much more in the car today, that was the best we could do.”

Talking about his frustration at being stuck behind Sainz, the Ferrari driver said:

“Yeah I mean honestly there wasn’t much more anyway, so we didn’t have the pace to challenge him any better.”

Sainz spoke to Sportskeeda after the race, explaining the areas where Ferrari lacked. But the Spanish driver highlighted a significant problem with their car related to overheating, which compromised their tire performance in dirty air while following another car.

The Spanish driver finished sixth and was followed by Charles Leclerc in P7 at the Saudi Arabian GP. However, the Maranello team are expected to bring upgrades to further develop their car, which should be a sign of relief for both drivers.