A cat which opted for a roam on the Baku City Circuit resulted in a misconception over what Charles Leclerc had in fact said on group radio throughout the sprint.
When Leclerc was preparing to restart the sprint action after a Safety Car duration, following a race-ending event for Yuki Tsunoda, the Ferrari driver came by the radio with a message which at first resulted in some issue.
Leclerc is regretfully well familiar with dependability issues obstructing while in lofty positions, and it looked like he was maybe caution of issues with the Ferrari power system by stating what sounded to be “cut”.
But, when talking to media in the post-race interview, Leclerc relocated to clarify that he had in fact said “cat”, having actually seen one on the circuit.
A social networks post from Ferrari appropriately verified that a black cat had actually chosen to live life on the wild side by making its method onto the circuit.
Asked if Ferrari had a prospective future issue on their hands with this engine ‘cut’, Leclerc responded: “Absolutely not. I said a cat, which is different!
“There was a cat in the middle of the road and the Safety Car had to stop, but I think I was probably the only one who saw that.
“But yeah, out of Turn 1 there was a cat and the Safety Car braked. It wasn’t too bad, but I felt like I had to say it!”
Leclerc distress the chances by declaring lead for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while he likewise began the sprint race from the P1 area.
In the sprint though he was not able to keep Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at bay who went on to take the chequered flag, and while he succeeded in holding Max Verstappen behind in the other Red Bull, it is uncertain just how much efficiency he was missing out on due to the sidepod damage got in an early accident with Mercedes’ George Russell.
That sprint then verified the concerns of Leclerc and Ferrari that Red Bull, the dominant F1 force throughout the opening 3 rounds of F1 2023, still keep that benefit in the race.
But having actually ended up P2 to take the very best outcome possible from that sprint, Leclerc is out for a repeat of such outcome increasing on Sunday, which might even consist of taking the win as he gets a fresh possibility from lead.
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“It confirms a little bit what we thought: the Red Bull still has the upper hand in the race,” said Leclerc instantly after the sprint. “But we, again, must not forget how far we were behind on race pace two races ago.
“So we did a step forward; we are still not where we want to be. But as I said, if winning is not possible then we just need to take the maximum points. And today, there wasn’t anything more, so happy with the second place.
“And we will try, anyway, to go for the win tomorrow, even though the Red Bull seems to be quicker.”
Carlos Sainz has actually been off the rate for much of the weekend up until now in the sis Ferrari, and having actually ended up the sprint in P5, he will be searching for a more powerful proving in the Grand Prix as he releases from the P4 grid slot.
The post How a ‘cat’ led to Charles Leclerc team radio confusion in Baku appeared initially on Planetf1.com.
