Charles Leclerc reveals Ferrari discussions over McLaren’s “controversial” wing
Ferrari have discussed McLaren's "controversial" rear wing internally, Charles Leclerc says.
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari have discussed the “controversial” rear wing of F1 rival McLaren internally.
Ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, F1’s governing body the FIA confirmed they are “reviewing data and any additional evidence” that emerged over the Baku weekend of McLaren’s rear wing.
Television footage from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix appeared to show a part of McLaren’s rear wing flexing upwards on the straights, prompting fresh scrutiny amid an ongoing flexi-wing row.
"Yes, [there is] definitely a dialogue that we've already had," Leclerc told media including Motorsport in Singapore.
"I mean, I think Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] will go on that matter a bit more into detail, but from what I've been told, it's controversial to say the least. So, yeah. I'll leave that here and I'll let Fred comment on it a bit further.”
Leclerc finished second behind Oscar Piastri in Baku and admitted he was surprised by the strength of McLaren’s straightline speed during the race.
"I mean it was a good move," the Monegasque said of Piastri’s race-winning overtake. "However, as I said when I saw him going on the inside, I knew he was there. I knew it was an opportunity for him to get past, but I was not more worried than that.
"I knew that he could take the lead, but I also knew that I was at the beginning of the warm-up of the tyres, and I didn't want to push on them, so I didn't want to start going stupid in terms of how defensive I would get.
"However, I was wrong because obviously his straightline speed was really, really strong and after that I never had the opportunity to pass again.
"I don't think on the attacks there was anything better I could have done. I could have done a better job defending. However, again, I didn't know how quick they were on the straights after that.”
Speaking in Thursday’s FIA press conference, Piastri insisted McLaren’s rear wing is “legal”.
"As long as it passes all the tests - and we get tested a lot, it passes, so it is certainly not the magic ticket or magic bullet for why we're competitive,” he said. "It is legal, it passes all the tests, so I am pretty happy with it.”
Teammate Lando Norris, meanwhile, said he is “proud” of McLaren’s dubbed ‘mini DRS’ trick.
“Everything's been tested, everything's legal,” he explained. We’re doing what we can, that's what Formula 1 is for – exploring everything within the rules. We've cleared all the tests and everything and FIA are happy.
“So now I'm proud, I'm happy with what the team are doing – they're pushing the limits and that's what you've got to do if you want to fight at the top and fight against people who are also known for doing such things and exploring every area possible.
“Now I'm more proud of the team for pushing every single area that we can. We've not been in situations where we could do that in the past but now we're in that position so I'm very happy.
“It's actually a cool thing to see, I think, in my opinion.”
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