Binotto needs to sort this out. Image Unavailable, Please Login Here are both drivers versions of what happened: I for one think Vettel was right. Why even swap at all if he is over a second clear? This not a charity. This seems like to me after a couple wins Charles influence has grown massively in the team. The plan was downright amateur....you have a 5 time world champion in a nearly unbeatable car breathing down your necks, do you really want to squabble about track position, especially so early in the race? If Lerclerc did not give the tow to Vettel he would have effectively given it to Hamilton, which is far worse. Binotto could have solved this easily. He simply could have said all talk of any swapping had to be down later in the race and if and ONLY if said car wanting to swap had a clear advantage. Lerclerc had no clear advantage. He was losing time at the start, Hamilton was right behind, it was senseless to even talk about swapping position. The more I think about it, the more I think that Leclerc is getting out of hand. Yes he is a good driver, but these last 3 races have brought about a change in him. He's starting to come across as if he is entitled to win if he gets pole. Which is not the case and never will be. Monza has went to his head, the admiration from the tifosi has probably made him think he's some sort of driving god. His incessant team radio discussions about this early on made him sound like a petulant child, like Vettel stole his toys or something. Vettel was racing...you are free to close up. Why would he have to slow down? Why should he give Leclerc any concession when he has been there for 5 years? Vettel is arguably Ferraris main driver. Yes he makes mistakes. Yes he may be over the road and is "mentally weak". But when he is putting in storming laps, get the hell out the way if you don't want to match him with your own skill. Shut up, get off the damn radio, and SHOW us why you deserve that position. Hopefully Ferrari does not allow this in Suzuka. I fear this bickering is not going to do anything good for the team. Personally I rate Max over Leclerc now. Yes he wrecks peoples races but at least he owns up to it. I never see any entitlement from him.
The right question to ask is, had there not been a pre-race agreement would Leclerc have let Seb by on the first lap uncontested as he did, instead of just shutting the door? Even if Seb was faster, there’s no logical reason why Leclerc wouldn’t have just blocked him, unless, as everyone at Ferrari has acknowledged, there was a pre-race agreement of sorts. Leclerc will learn from this, and I don’t expect him to trust some lamebrain gentleman’s agreement in the future, esp not one w the likes of multi-21-Seb. Can’t wait to see Leclerc get his elbows out even more and push overrated, overpaid Seb out.
I fear this is exactly where we are heading. At this point it seems like both drivers are not even pretending to like each other. Kimi and Vettel had more chemistry.
Ferrari has a great car, and it looks to be a contender next season. However, if they can't act as a team, RBR will be the one contending for WDC and WCC next season.
It feels like Alonso v Hamilton to me. The young upstart against the seasoned champion. Wontberoom for both come 2021.... perhaps 2020
Agree with every point of this 100%. If Ferrari doesn't get this under control right now...it will destroy the rest of the season for them.
Vettel expects Leclerc to be Bottas Mk2, sorry mate that ain't gonna happen anymore. Vettel was favoured at the start of the season,Binotto has said he is surprised how fast Leclerc is so he would be nuts to hold the guy back,he is the future,Vettel is on his way out.
In Suzuka Charles will blow the doors off Seb in qualifying, I expect a huge gap. Yes Binotto is excellent technically but ill suited for managing this two type A's situation but Ferrari management is watching him, Camilleri etc won't let it fester and will intervene if it gets out of hand.
I partially agree with this analysis but SV leapt from 3rd to 1st in a blistering start and moreover extended a healthy lead over Leclerc after only a few laps. Undoubtedly and without question CL is the future but he has to prove he can do it over many seasons and not just a few races. If he was sulking and let SV get the better of him then he has learnt an important lesson, your team mate is your biggest rival. Agree Binotto needs to squash this now before it gets out of hand - if he needs advice then look back at history on the Prost / Senna / Hamilton / Alonso / Mansell etc etc episodes on what to do next! Best tony
If you think it's bad now, you better hope they don't have a dominant car next season when there is a real chance for both drivers to win the championship.
I am beginning to think there is more to CL than meets the eye , he isn't the innocent victim he makes himself out to be repeatedly . Could be immaturity or just character , he sure whines a lot .
I will say this: Binotto not only needs to borrow a page from Guenter Steiner and quash the issues / whingeing quickly, but he also has to develop a real strategy for races like Russia. Given how competitive the Merc is, the answer to swapping 1st and 2nd place cars cannot be "we'll have the car in P1 slow down and let the car in P2 pass". Ferrari's strategy team should never have told the drivers they'd execute a swap "shortly after" they switched places - it only promotes drivers complaining, and builds distrust in the team's race strategy.
Agree except max is a danger ; can’t rate a guy that makes that many mistakes that high imo Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
He's entitled to nr.1 in a team with team orders - outscored, outplaced, outclassed SV. Either F let's them go all out, with predictable results, or they come down harder on the slower guy. Bino sorted it - they told them to swap because SV wasn't supposed to pass CL (CL didn't defend). Since he disobeyed instructions, F held SV out until he lost the position. Defacto nr. 2. We have drama because SV hasn't yet capitulated, but that's inevitable. Best he can do is wax nostalgic about V12's and gain our sympathy. If F wants drama with some real gusto and purpose they should rehire FA.
Dude you serious. We went from CL being the savior of Scuderia Ferrari to some punk boy by 8 laps in the Russian GP when Seb reneged on an agreement for the pole sitter. The reasons for not honoring the agreement were valid, and Charles should have been made aware of that clearly by the pit wall, but the fact stands Charles did what he agreed to do and Seb took liberty to interpret how or when to honor his side. So there was a disconnect between the drivers, and between the drivers and pit wall This mess that the media and press are jumping on, I lay at Binotto and SF's feet IMO. Charles is young, wicked fast, and exactly what our team needs. He is the future of the Scuderia assuming we don't squander it. He should have been informed pre-race that if a swap is too hazardous to try due to the Mercs right on your ass, we will honor it later if feasible. And if not then, then during the race when he was asking for the swap he should have been made clear we will get it done later, again if feasible. Should be obvious to Charles, but if not because the kid is young, hammer it home. Not confuse both drivers and waffle on it 8 laps in At first I thought that the swap agreement was incredibly dumb to allow, but thinking strategy it was probably best to hash it out prior to the race to protect the lead against Ham in a race where track position is key. They just weren't thorough enough to infer that the possibility Mercedes, which has dominated for the entire hybrid era, would clearly prohibit a swap in the early portions of the race if not the entire freaking race Charles is blowing past expectations and more than pulling his weight, but he is still young. It is up to the team to manage him and manage him and Seb well, to keep his momentum going and build into ideally something meaningful for 2020. Not this negativity and awkward/hostile feeling the press is trying to pounce on Surprised to see so many people turn on Charles for the radio comments, it's easy to judge things sitting on a couch when the kid is pouring his heart and soul into kicking some ass for us on the circuits. I am thrilled with him, glad he shows some fight and emotion, and again putting myself in his shoes I'd have probably done the same in the heat of the moment. He got pole Singapore and got undercut. Ok.... got pole in Russia, gave P1 to Seb regardless of Seb nailing the start or not per the agreement, didn't get the other end of the bargain allegedly I'd cut him some slack, give him some support, and hope that we can do a far better job of being clear for both drivers that the mandate should be Ferrari 1-2 regardless of who is P1 or P2, and if we can consistently get to that stage (more than simply 3 wins in 3 races in yet another worthless season), then figure out semantics like who can come first and get the nice shiny big trophy I've been a Seb fan but over the course of the season I am now truly a fan of both, if not Charles more because if I had to pick a driver for the team to keep it would not be Seb. Charles has brought some passion, youth, speed, and surprising maturity/poise to the team which is very much welcome IMO. No one is perfect Forza Ferrari
Good post but CL couldn't keep up with SV in the opening stint. He was invited to overtake........ "ask him to speed up" and then SV pounded in fastest lap after fastest lap. Harsh lesson for the boy but he is learning the hard way unfortunately - your team mate is a AH , period. Pity the kid hasn't got a mature driver to copy, but then are any of them? Even MS was ruthless in his early years. The press want another Rosberg / Hammy feud - Binotto needs to keep a sense of tranquillity in the team and focus on car. Best tony
The other side of the coin is Seb could have been stubborn and pounded his car to the point of MGUK failure to simply not give CL back his position Ferrari should have never allowed an agreement to happen where any sort of swap was contemplated that early in the race, I don't know how they could have orchestrated a swap early without severely risking doing something dumb and giving Mercedes that window of opportunity. Charles should have had his expectations set that a swap would happen if feasible later on in the race or during pit strategy or whatever, not where he thinks everyone in agreement he's getting a swap back immediately & agree Binotto better be doing olive branches, massages, whatever to keep things tranquil between drivers otherwise in all honesty I would want the Scuderia to throw their entire weight behind Charles. Charles is the future, or worth fully investing and committing to, not Seb
The team are too weak in management to do what you posted above. Pathetic. Seb has had how many years? He was pushed out of Red Bull and should be shown the polite but firm exit out of Ferrari.....
Charles has zero reason to trust Ferrari at all. He is the faster and more capable driver as young as he is. Vettel is done and he did it all to himself. 4 WDC's and little real skill or polish to show for it. His reputation is mixed at best. No major skill at all. He is outclassed on the grid.
Definately totally agree - Definitely is the future, but not yet imho. Ferrari is a massive team with politics of biblical proportions, can he handle that yet without a strong team principal / manager who is equally looking over his shoulder!. Once Binotto has got the results the SF hierarchy want and is indepensable can he be protected from such polemics and allowed to shine. I doubt SV could pound the MGUK into dust. The team can and do have total control over this unit so would be doubtful. If SV did anything wrong it was to park the car where he knew a safety car would be released- BUT the team told him to stop the car immediately for risk of destroying the unit or much more. either way it was unlucky set of circumstances for the team or SV, the Mercs profited from it.
