The Las Vegas GP saw Max Verstappen crowned as F1 World Drivers’ Champion for the fourth time, with Mercedes bagging a 1-2 as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ultimately dominated precedings on Saturday night.
In the fight for the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari clawed back 12 points on McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship as 24 separate them heading into the final two rounds.
However, Charles Leclerc’s team radio after crossing the line has gained a lot of attention since Saturday night.
Leclerc plays the team game
At the start, the 8-time race winner overtook Gasly and Sainz to move into P2.
He went on the attack George Russell a couple of laps later with DRS, but he failed to make the move.
Leclerc opened up his front tyres and fell off a cliff in lap time on those mediums. The Monegasque driver had no hesitation in letting Sainz through for P2 as the Spaniard’s tyres were in much better shape.
Lap 7
Leclerc: “Carlos can overtake this lap.”
Sainz was given the inside by Leclerc into turn 14 as they swapped. The driver of car #16 fell to P4 before pitting as Verstappen eased by.
Leclerc closes in
On lap 19, Sainz held a 3.4s lead over Leclerc as they sat in P3 and P4. The Monegasque driver had Lewis Hamilton following him very closely.
Over the next few laps, Leclerc closed in on his teammate at a quick rate as the tables turned on who managed their tyres better on the first set of hards.
| Lap times | Sainz | Leclerc |
| Lap 20 | 1:37.774 | 1:37.295 |
| Lap 21 | 1:37.546 | 1:37.448 |
| Lap 22 | 1:37.514 | 1:37.130 |
| Lap 23 | 1:37.477 | 1:37.177 |
| Lap 24 | 1:37.919 | 1:37.256 |
| Lap 25 | 1:37.944 | 1:37.291 |
| Lap 26 | 1:38.323 | 1:37.933 |
As the above shows, Leclerc was quicker on seven consecutive laps and got within a second of Sainz by the end of lap 25.
Sainz does not play the team game
After taking almost 0.7s out of the 4-time race winner on laps 24 and 25, Leclerc was told Sainz would let him through into 14 at the end of lap 26. Riccardo Adami had passed on this message to his driver.
However, the 30-year-old did not comply into turn 14 that lap. Sainz said he would into turn 5 on the next tour, and he failed to do so again.
At the third time of trying on lap 27, he eventually ceded the place to Leclerc into turn 14 as Sainz looked to box due to punishing the fronts too hard during that stint.
In the process, Leclerc lost 2s of race time on the basis of his lap 25 time. He did a 1:38.698 on lap 27. It harmed his front tyres, too.
Lap 26 and 27 team radio messages — Sainz and Adami
Lap 26
Adami: “Do not slow down Charles.”
Sainz: “If you want we can box this lap.”
RA: “Copy, understood.”
CS: “Let’s get off these tyres and go slow intro in the next [stint].”
CS: “Check what Charles did because he’s better on the front now.”
RA: “And let Charles by — and staying out for this lap. Still opening to Tsunoda, thinking [of boxing] the next lap.”
CS: “Who’s behind Charles?”
RA: “Hamilton.”
CS: “I’ll let him by in turn 5.”
Lap 27
RA: “Careful, Hamilton right behind Charles. He’s half a second behind him.”
CS: “Copy.”
CS: “Box me guys, box me. I’m just slow. I’m going to lose time here.”
RA: “Try to box, box this lap.”
RA: “Let Charles by, let Charles by and box. Let him by in [turn] 14.”
Lap 26 and 27 — Leclerc and Bozzi team radio messages
Lap 26
Bozzi: “We will swap cars into the next corner [turn 14].”
Lap 27
CL: “Nice swap, amazing. He did [inaudible] terribly.”
BB: “He said into turn 5 now.”
CL: “I’m killing my fronts like this. F***ing stupid.”
BB: “He will let you by now.”
More key radio messages as Leclerc boxed
After Sainz had to abort pitting at the end of lap 27, the Spaniard lost around 3s. Nonetheless, a 3-lap undercut was sufficient to get back ahead of his stablemate as Leclerc’s tyres grained at the end of the stint.
While he was told to not put Leclerc under pressure, Sainz did pass him on the run down to turn 5 with DRS. He was told as he was completing the pass on the Monegasque driver, so that was an error on behalf of the team or his race engineer Riccardo Adami.
Lap 31
BB: “Box, Charles, box. We should finish close to Carlos.”
BB: “And Watch the white line. Watch the white line. And box, Charles, box.”
RA: “Charles is boxing.”
Lap 32
BB: “Carlos has been told to not overtake, but it’s really close. He might be just in front.”
BB: “He has been told to not put you under pressure.”
RA: “Do not put him under pressure.”
BB: “So just take care of your tyres. Focus on your tyres.”
Leclerc: “Maybe try in Spanish.”
Final 10 laps and Leclerc continues to play the team game — but starts to get cynical
As Sainz and Leclerc closed in on Max Verstappen for 3rd place, the driver of car #16 asked if he could attack his Spanish teammate. Ferrari said no, and it’s a call he respected.
Sainz got past on on lap 41. Leclerc’s frustration was building, however, strongly suggesting that he felt his teammate was holding Verstappen in his DRS to stop his teammate passing.
Once Sainz’s battery recharged, he got out of DRS, allowing Leclerc to pass Verstappen towards the end of lap 46.
Lap 40/41
CL: “We are fighting?”
BB: “No, we are not fighting, we want to take care of the tyres — and we’ll do it later.”
Lap 42
CS: “My battery is flat.”
RA: “It’s slowly recharging.”
Lap 43
BB: “There will be 7 laps after this.”
CL: “But I think there’s a DRS game in front, so I think we’re f***ed.”
End of race sees Leclerc lose it
On the slow down lap back to the pits, Leclerc’s remarkable restraint over the last 2½ years ended as he swore on multiple occasions, venting his frustration at what had happened in the Grand Prix.
BB: “Yes. Pick up [rubber], please.”
CL: “Yes, whatever you want, as always.”
BB: “Charles, you did your job, OK. Thank you.”
CL: “Yeah yeah yeah I did my job but being nice f**ks me over all the f**king time, all the f**king time. It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful.”
Vasseur: “Charles, Charles.”
CL: “I know I need to shut up but at one points it’s always the same, so… oh my f**king god.”
BB: “OK. But, anyway, you did the right thing for the team. And pick up please.”
CL: “Yeah yeah f***ing pick up what the f**k you want… S**t, s**t, s**t, the radio is on. I’m sorry.”
What led to Leclerc venting so hard on the radio post-race?
It would be a mistake to think this occurred because of a one-off situation. This has been bubbling since 2022.
In 2022 when Ferrari had a very fast car before the summer break, Leclerc had a clear, decisive advantage over Sainz, even if he made mistakes at Imola and Paul Ricard.
Horrendous strategy calls cost him victories at Monaco and Silverstone, and he had a great chance of at least P2 in Hungary as well. As team boss, Mattia Binotto’s lack of accountability for these errors was puzzling, to say the least.
On top of that, unreliability in Baku and at the Spanish Grand Prix cost him a further 43-50 points, derailing any hopes of maintaining a title bid until Abu Dhabi.
As the season went on, and when they headed into 2023, going the wrong way on car development saw Ferrari go backwards at a solid rate of knots, dropping to the 4th fastest team by the start of last year.
Mattia Binotto (end of 2022) and David Sanchez (early 2023 as technical director) departed their roles, and Fred Vasseur became team principal.
Leclerc’s trust in Ferrari needed to be rebuilt. While his French boss has done that, there is still lingering frustration at everything that has gone on.
Leclerc has consistently played the team game
At the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz took pole position as Leclerc qualified P3. With Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez out in Q2, this was likely to be Ferrari’s one and only chance to take a win.
The now 27-year-old started on soft tyres, jumped George Russell at the start and allowed Sainz to build a gap in the first stint before the Safety Car appeared, meaning the Spaniard could manage things from there as a one-stop is always favoured at Marina Bay.
After the race, Leclerc confirmed he sacrificed his own race to make sure Sainz and Ferrari got the win — it was the only non-Red Bull win of 2023.
His loyalty and love for Ferrari is unquestionable — but it would be fair to say he has not always got the same in return.
Las Vegas was the tipping point of something that started 2½ years ago. It was justified and understandable.
Has Sainz previously ignored pre-race team instructions?
At the Spanish GP earlier this year, Leclerc said Sainz did not adhere to an agreement before the race about looking after the tyres in the early laps as they focused on pace later in the stints.
However, on lap 3, Sainz made a move around the outside into turn 1, pinching Leclerc up against the inside kerb. Sainz was lucky to avoid a puncture, while Leclerc picked up a small bit of front wing damage.
In their time as teammates, Leclerc has generally introduced his tyres slowly, leading to less degradation and better pace at the end of stints — and he ultimately finished 8.3s ahead at the Circuit de Catalunya back in June as he could extend his first two stints.
What is clear at this stage is that Leclerc seemingly does not trust his teammate anymore, and it leaves him frustrated as he has regularly done what has been asked of him by the Marnaello-based squad.
Do Sainz’s comments stack up?
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race in Las Vegas when asked about Leclerc’s frustration over the radio, Sainz said the following:
“I don’t like using the radio to complain or to do anything — I don’t like using the media to criticise or to demonstrate or to prove if I’m happy or not.
“I prefer to do that behind closed doors, because there’s never good outcomes from these kind of comments on the media.
In Mexico last month, the 30-year-old said, “come on guys. Charles is taking the piss, honestly” on lap 15 when the Monegasque driver was within DRS as Ferrari held a 1-2, potentially wanting team orders of his own.
Going back to Austria last year, Ferrari had a pre-race agreement in place when they started P2 and P3 on the grid — and he reluctantly stuck to it despite his radio messages.
Sainz got hurt by a VSC, losing him valuable time and a probable podium in 3rd. He was not afraid to use the media to criticise Ferrari that day.
Every driver uses the radio and/or media at times to vent when they need to after a frustrating moment or race.
Constructors’ Championship
Mercedes had the fastest car in Las Vegas — there is no question of that. However, better teamwork and not having a botched radio call with Sainz could have potentially got the team a 2-3 or 2-4 finish.
Why? Because Ferrari had tremendous straight-line speed on Saturday. Hamilton never looked like passing Leclerc in the middle stint even when the Monegasque had no DRS before he caught the Spaniard.
Sainz’s refusal to comply with team orders on two occasions cost Leclerc vital race time when the 27-year-old was much quicker, and the pit stop mistake by Ferrari meant the Spaniard ended up behind the Brit as well.
Hamilton grained his tyres in the closing stages, meaning Ferrari had a solid chance of holding position, or repassing him had the seven-time World Champion come out behind one or both and got held up for a few laps.
Although people have said and will say Sainz is leaving the team and is right to race for himself, the reality is he is still a paid employee of Ferrari and should be helping the team when he needs to until the end of his contract.
Ferrari has gone 16 years without an F1 title. The 2024 Constructors’ Championship represents the first chance they have had at a title going into the final two races for 12 years.
Fred Vasseur has a job on his hands to make sure the drivers work together over the final two events to ensure they give themselves the best chance at the Constructors’ Championship, even if McLaren look like comfortable favourites still.
The Frenchman will also need to use his leadership skills to make sure Leclerc’s complete trust of him does not turn into worries about how the team operates again.
