Ferrari ‘not finger pointing’ amid recent Charles Leclerc F1 results dip

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur says the squad is not ‘finger pointing’ amid a recent tough run of results since Charles Leclerc’s Monaco victory.

The Scuderia made a strong start to the 2024 campaign, with Carlos Sainz winning in Australia while Leclerc scored four podiums inside the first seven rounds before winning the Monaco Grand Prix.

Since then, however, both drivers have seen the podium just once, while front wing damage in Austria and a strategy misfire after a poor qualifying at Silverstone saw Leclerc finish races outside of the points.

While he rebounded with fourth and third in the following two races, Leclerc said after the Belgian GP that he felt Ferrari had the fourth-fastest car currently.

Vasseur notes there have been errors on both sides in the first half of the season, but says Ferrari is not trying to focus blame and believes Leclerc’s frustrations stem from his greater expectations.

“It’s not just about Charles, it’s tough for the team,” Vasseur told formula1.com.

“After Monaco we had a tough sequence. In Canada we were not in bad shape.

“What is clear is the car is a bit more difficult to drive the last couple of events and the level of expectation of Charles is also a bit higher.

“It’s the life of a team, that you have up and downs. We have permanent discussions with Charles.

“He knows the situation on our side, what we do well and what we did wrong and he knows sometimes he did some mistakes.

“But we’re not in the situation that we’re trying to put the responsibility on someone.

“We’ve been working together for years, we know each other perfectly, we know we are pushing, we know we just need to fix things.

“We are absolutely not in the situation to finger point. It’s also where it’s good to have a personal relationship.”

At the summer break, Leclerc is third in the standings on 177 points - 100 away from championship leader Max Verstappen, while Ferrari occupies third in the constructors’ table.