Leclerc hit out at Sainz's disrespectful driving in the closing stages of the Las Vegas Grand Prix
After failing to challenge for the victory in Nevada, Charles Leclerc launched an astonishing expletive-laden rant against his team-mate Carlos Sainz at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Ferrari were favourites heading into the Las Vegas weekend, but they were caught by surprise on Thursday when Mercedes started to display a shocking performance.
The Scuderia managed to secure encouraging starting positions for the race, with Carlos Sainz taking second and Charles Leclerc fourth for the 50-lap Nevadan round. The Monégasque then had a brilliant start, jumping to second at the first corner while the Spaniard dropped to third.
Although the two Ferrari drivers appeared to be the quickest in the opening stages of the race, their tyres completely fell off the cliff on Lap 8 which forced them to pit for a new set of hards. However, their pace on the hards was impressive again and managed to salvage their day by climbing through the field to secure a third and fourth place for the Scuderia.
Despite a relatively satisfying point haul, the eight-time F1 race winner hit out at his team-mate after Sainz ignored team-order. Leclerc was one of the first drivers to come into the pits for his first stop, but he managed to extend his second stop compared to his direct rivals.
Pitting three laps later than Sainz, he emerged in front of the Spaniard, but Sainz overtook him while Leclerc was intent on generating heat into his new hards.
The Madrid-born driver overtook Leclerc despite the team asking him not to put his team-mate under pressure in the first corners following his second and final pit stop.
Ahead of his second tyre change, Leclerc was told by his race engineer Bryan Bozzi that “Carlos has been told to not overtake but it is really close, you might be just in front. He has been told to not put you under pressure. So just take care of your tyres.”
Taking the chequered flag in P4, Charles Leclerc made his feelings clear over the radio to engineer his new race engineer, who took over the role from Xavier Marcos earlier this season.
Radio exchange between Leclerc and BozziBozzi: "Pick up, please."
Leclerc: "Yes, whatever you want, as always."
Bozzi: "Charles, you did your job. OK, thank you."
Leclerc: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I did my job but being nice fucks me over all the fucking time, all the fucking time. It's not even being nice, it's just being respectful. "
Bozzi: "Charles..."
Leclerc: "I know I need to shut up but at one point it's always the same, so, oh my fucking god."
Bozzi: "OK, but anyway, you did the right thing for the team. And pick up please."
Leclerc: "Yeah, yeah, fucking pick up what the fuck we want. Shit, shit, shit...and the radio is on. I'm sorry, that was on me. And my bad for the first stint, I was shit driving as well."
