F1: Leclerc should be careful with Ferrari criticism, or face the axe

(GMM) Two former Formula 1 drivers have warned Charles Leclerc to be careful about his criticism of Ferrari’s bungled race strategy at Monaco.

Team boss Mattia Binotto immediately protected the Maranello marque’s top star, insisting he is right to be angry about only finishing fourth on Sunday.

“When you start first and lose the race in this way, it means that there was some error,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Charles is right – it means something didn’t work out and there is some decision to review.”

Mattia Binotto and Piero Ferrari. credit @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Dutch GP boss and former driver Jan Lammers, however, said the Monaco-born star also needs to take some responsibility for why teammate Carlos Sainz got ahead.

“Sainz was very strong in determining his own strategy,” he told NOS. “Leclerc can learn from that.

“Under those circumstances, whether you send a driver out with or without slicks on a semi-wet track, the driver ultimately makes the decision,” Lammers added.

“He can say which tires he wants, basically. So I think Leclerc should think about that.”

Another former driver, Ralf Schumacher, admits that while Red Bull was “calm” in reacting to the strategic decisions on Sunday, that same calm “was nowhere to be seen at Ferrari”.

“You could hear on the radio how much panic they were in,” he told Sky Deutschland. “They just didn’t know what to do with Leclerc and in the end they made the wrong decision.”

Despite being slower all weekend, Red Bull again outsmarted the faster Ferrari squad. Here Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving (16) the Ferrari F1-75, Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari F1-75 lead the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 29, 2022 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing)

However, Schumacher said Leclerc should be more careful about complaining about Ferrari’s error.

“He has also made enough mistakes himself, so he has to remain humble,” said the former Toyota driver. “These things just happen. You win together and you lose together.

“The way I see it, Ferrari has done less wrong so far this season than Leclerc has himself.”

On the other hand, he says Red Bull simply has more recent experience about how to handle the current world championship challenge.

“On the other hand, Red Bull has learned an awful lot in recent years from the tough world championship fight with Mercedes, who have always been strategically very strong,” said Schumacher. “They are now benefitting from this.”