Martin Brundle asks Charles Leclerc about the tense Ferrari radio chat during the Barcelona GP, saying, “You can’t…”
During the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Martin Brundle had some questions for Charles Leclerc after a tense radio chat between Leclerc and his Ferrari race engineer, Bryan Bozzi.
Leclerc had a tough moment in qualifying on Saturday when he lost control coming out of turn four and crashed head-on into the tyre barrier. Luckily, he was okay and walked away without any issues. Because of the crash, he had to start Sunday’s race from 10th place, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton was right up front on the front row.
Leclerc made a strong start and moved up to sixth place, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, before his first pit stop. He was one of the last drivers to pit, which meant he was leading the race for a time. Ferrari called him in for new tyres, but Leclerc wanted to stay out longer to avoid losing time to those who had already pitted. Eventually, he agreed and came in a lap later.
Brundle, commentating for Sky Sports, wondered if Leclerc should have trusted his team’s advice more. He said, “The team has lots of smart people watching everything, and you really need to trust them. Drivers can help with decisions, but in the end, you have to rely on your team.”
Later, with different tyre strategies, Leclerc was ahead of Hamilton, who had fresher and faster tyres. Leclerc chose to let Hamilton pass so he could chase down the race leader, George Russell. Ferrari and Mercedes used different tyre plans: Hamilton started on soft tyres, then switched to hard and medium, while Mercedes started both drivers on medium tyres and followed with two hard tyre stints.
Before the race, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said the winner would likely be the one who manages their tyres best on this tough, high-wear track. He remarked, “All the tyres felt bad to me, so I think everyone will have a tough time. It’s just about who struggles less. We’ll see.”