Peter Windsor concerned about three words used by Charles Leclerc on the Ferrari radio during the Las Vegas Grand Prix

On By Pranco

Charles Leclerc became frustrated after the Ferrari driver missed a podium at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Monegasque driver was impressive during the 2023 version of the race as he fought hard to beat Sergio Perez for second place, with the almost unstoppable Max Verstappen taking victory.

But Leclerc could not repeat his success in 2024 as he finished fourth behind teammate Carlos Sainz and both Mercedes and they recorded their first one-two in two years.

Leclerc jumped from fourth to second after the first corner as he passed Sainz and Pierre Gasly and challenged George Russell for the lead. But he was overtaken by his teammate before the first pit stops after his tires suffered a dramatic loss of performance.

The 27-year-old was allowed to pass Sainz later in the race, but was then undercut by the Spaniard during the final pit stops. Leclerc could no longer get past his teammate and had to settle for fourth place.

Monaco's Charles Leclerc driving the (16) Ferrari SF-24 on track during the final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip...
Photo by Clive Rose – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Peter Windsor saw a ‘bad sign’ in Charles Leclerc’s explosive tirade after the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Leclerc was furious about his Ferrari radio after the racetelling his race engineer that he was fed up with ‘being the nice guy’, among other strong statements.

In response to his angry messages Ferrari pointed out two mistakes Leclerc made that cost him costs the race while pushing Russell one more lap longer than prescribed, forcing him to pit early.

READ MORE: The life of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc outside F1, from fortune to girlfriend

Furthermore, his frustrations at Sainz not letting him through were allayed when Ferrari showed Leclerc that he would not have been in a position to challenge Lewis Hamilton for second place.

But the anger of the Monegasque driver was clearly visible, and Peter Windsor remained concerned about his comments about being “the nice guy.”

Speaking on the Cameron Cc YouTube channel, Windsor stressed that Leclerc should not pay attention to the things said about him and just focus on his racing.

“There’s already a bad sign because in the rant he said something like, ‘I’m tired of being the nice guy’ or something like that. That’s not his problem,” he said.

“His problem is thinking about it and being aware of it. It’s not being the nice guy, because the opposite is, ‘Oh, I’m going to be the bad guy now.’ That is not the solution.

“The solution is to be the man who is not a man. He is just a driver and nothing more than Max Verstappen, and not to listen to the press, not to read anything written about him. Not to get on social media, not to have a profile, but just to be a racing driver. When he retires he can do all these other things.”

Ferrari is battling McLaren and Red Bull for the constructors’ championship

Leclerc cannot afford to ruin another race if he wants to help Ferrari deliver their first piece of silverware since 2008. The Maranello team is second in the Constructors’ Championship, sandwiched between McLaren and Red Bull heading into Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari put a dent in McLaren’s lead by finishing third and fourth in Las Vegas, while Norris and Piastri finished sixth and seventh. The Italian team are now 24 points behind their rivals, while Red Bull are 29 points further in third place.

Position The constructors’ rankings Points
1 608
2 584
3 555
4 425
5 86
6 50
7 49
8 46
9 17
10

Sauber F1 team

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With two Grand Prix and a sprint race to go, there are still plenty of opportunities for Ferrari to wrest the lead from McLaren and take the title.

But they will have to put the drama of Las Vegas firmly behind them if they want to take on the Woking-based team around the fast Losail and Yas Marina circuits.

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