Charles Leclerc Faces Criticism After "Unforgiveable" Miami Grand Prix Performance

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is facing criticism after his performance at the Miami Grand Prix, and Formula 1 commentator Peter Windsor has questioned the impact of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur. Leclerc, who had a strong showing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, encountered a disastrous weekend in Miami where he crashed in both the practice session and qualifying.

Windsor expressed disappointment in the partnership between Leclerc and Vasseur, stating that he expected better from the duo. He believes that Vasseur should have intervened to prevent Leclerc from making the same mistake twice during qualifying.

Windsor said:

“I was getting quite bullish about the whole new Charles/Freddy Vasseur partnership – sort of Colin Chapman/Jim Clark or Patrick Head/Alan Jones.

“Not that Freddy is a designer, of course, but after what they had [under Mattia Binotto] I was getting bullish about Charles having this bond with Freddy Vasseur who’s a real racer. They should be on the same wavelength.

“And yet it all went south. It was terrible.

“Charles had a terrible weekend in Australia and it kind of came back in Baku [with a] very good weekend, as good as you can have in the Ferrari in Baku.

“And personally, I was expecting Charles to do a similar job in Miami – and I think the car was just about there to do that.

“He looked messy before he had his two offs and then he had his two offs at the same place – and one of them was on a Saturday in qualifying when it really mattered, which was very un-Charles-like.

“It’s quite Charles-like to do that sort of thing on a Friday, but to do it on a Saturday under pressure – Max Verstappen [take] note – was unforgiveable.

“Which meant he qualified badly; different strategy off the line, didn’t work early on; got there in the end behind Carlos Sainz.

“Not a great weekend, not where that car would have been capable of finishing had Charles had a normal Charles Leclerc weekend.

“So I’ve got to revise my thinking now because, to be honest, I don’t think Freddy Vasseur should have allowed that sort of weekend to occur for Charles Leclerc."

He continued:

“Does he just let Charles get on with it in terms of how hard he’s going to push the car, knowing they’re right on this very small operational window and risk having more offs?

“Or does he say to Charles: ‘You’ve got the pace, you’ve got the pace over the lap. If you’re really going to push it, don’t push it in places where it isn’t going to really matter. Don’t push it through those esses before Turn 7 because there’s no real benefit there.’

“Was he saying that to Charles? I don’t know.

“I would like to think he was because if it’s an engineer saying that to Charles he can sort of say: ‘Well, yeah, they’re always saying that.’

“But if it’s Freddy Vasseur saying that, that’s a different thing.

“It appears as if Freddy didn’t say that, in which case I’m very surprised and a bit disappointed to be honest because that’s exactly what you needed to be saying to Charles Leclerc especially after Friday when he went off.

“After that, he was just playing catch up.

“I have to say, for me, I was disappointed with the whole Freddy Vassuer/Charles Leclerc tie-up in Miami and how it operated – or didn’t operate, really. It didn’t operate at all.

“And meanwhile, Carlos Sainz did a pretty good job again – very good job really. Just kept it on the island, did consistent fuel runs and he was really good in the race as well.

“Obviously the tyres weren’t brilliant in certain parts – usual Ferrari story [of] tyre management – but on this occasion he was doing a better job than Charles Leclerc.

“And that’s a worry. That is a worry.

“Because if Freddy’s not going to be able to do something about Charles – and really get the best from Charles race in, race out – then Ferrari are in big trouble."

Leclerc's performance in Miami was lacklustre, finishing seventh after a challenging race. Windsor believes that Vasseur should have guided Leclerc on how to push the car without risking mistakes. He questioned whether Vasseur had advised Leclerc on where to push and where not to, considering the narrow operational window of the car.

The former team manager expressed his disappointment with how the partnership operated in Miami, especially in contrast to Leclerc's teammate, Carlos Sainz, who had a solid performance. Windsor emphasized that Ferrari is in trouble if Vasseur cannot bring out the best in Leclerc consistently.

Windsor still holds Leclerc in high regard as a driver, comparing him to Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. However, he believes that Leclerc needs the right environment and guidance to fulfil his potential. He expressed concern that Leclerc is at a crossroads in his career and that Vasseur must help him reach his full potential.

Leclerc's chances of winning the F1 2023 title are dwindling as he trails Verstappen by 85 points in the Drivers' standings.

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