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The image of Charles Leclerc getting told off by Mattia Binotto after the 2022 F1 British GP was rather disturbing. Not only because Ferrari made a complete mess of the young driver's race but also because, in terms of the championship, they missed an opportunity.
Despite it all, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto was defiant in the way he felt the team dealt with the circumstances. There was almost a sense of lack of empathy or care that the team had pretty much compromised its only hope for a title.
Up until now, most fans have deemed Ferrari's strategy team the villain of Charles Leclerc's 2022 campaign. If this is the way the team is going to approach the season, it's about time Leclerc changed his approach on how he projected himself at Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc has been a Ferrari protege since the day he stepped into the bright, shiny world of Formula 1. However, with the team constantly falling short, Charles Leclerc needs a change in approach if there is to be any chance for him to win the title.
Follow the Fernando Alonso playbook
While Fernando Alonso was unable to win the title with Ferrari. The Spaniard was the closest the team got to setting up dynamics similar to what Michael Schumacher had inside the team. But it didn't happen overnight or as soon as Fernando Alonso joined the team. Alonso was not anointed as the team leader as soon as he stepped into the Prancing Horse.
Before the infamous "Fernando is faster than you" moment involving Felipe Massa in the 2010 German GP, there was another less publicized "Fernando is faster than you" moment in the Australian GP 2010 that Massa had ignored.
At the Australian GP, Felipe Massa was significantly slower than Fernando Alonso but declined team orders when instructed to let Alonso past. As a result, Massa scored a podium in that race while Alonso, the quicker driver, fell back and lost valuable points. It all came to a head in the 2010 Chinese GP when Fernando Alonso, once again stuck behind his teammate, made the ultimate statement by overtaking Massa at the pit entry.
Fernando Alonso finished the race almost 50 seconds ahead of his teammate and proved why he had to make the audacious move in the first place. By the time the F1 circus reached the German GP, Fernando Alonso had already done all the tough talks that needed to be done with the team. Alonso commanded preferential status within the team. Not only because he was faster, but also because he was the only hope for the team to win the title.
From that point onward, Alonso ensured that there wouldn't be any lack of decisiveness within the team as Ferrari knew he was their best bet to win the title. At the end of the day, Alonso was indeed the only driver capable of taking Ferrari within touching distance of the championship in the last 14 years.
Charles Leclerc needs to start throwing his weight around
Even though Charles Leclerc is at a very early stage of his career, he needs to take lessons from Alonso. Carlos Sainz is considerably below the level at which Charles Leclerc has been performing this season.
Carlos Sanz is 2-8 in terms of beating Leclerc this season. His two wins being in Canada and Monaco. Even at the British GP, Charles Leclerc, with a damaged front wing, was not only able to match Carlos Sainz but be unequivocally quicker than him.
At the end of the day, if there was ever any debate over who is the better driver of the two Ferrari stars, Charles Leclerc has won that debate emphatically. More than that, Ferrari knows where both the drivers lie in the pecking order. This is precisely why Charles Leclerc is locked up with Ferrari until the 2026 F1 season, while there was much deliberation over the 2-year extension received by Carlos Sainz.
After what happened at the British GP, Charles Leclerc needs to have tough talks within the team and get the message out as clearly as possible. He is the team's No. 1 driver, making him their only hope for an F1 title, and most importantly, he is more than 43 points behind the championship leader. If the team is looking to put together a title challenge, Leclerc's results need to be optimized.
As we mentioned earlier, Leclerc is still looked at as a "protege" within Ferrari. Charles Leclerc already has the results to prove that he is the best Ferrari driver. All he needs to do now is show the team that he is not just a protege anymore. He is the team leader and his word and his results need to take precedence if Ferrari want a title triumph this season.
Almost a decade or so ago, Fernando Alonso took command at Ferrari and almost won two titles. The Monegasque needs to follow the Spaniard's playbook if he is to make something out of his first championship battle.
