Charles Leclerc rebuked by Ferrari engineer who’s ‘trying his best’ in unbroadcast Qatar Grand Prix radio

Charles Leclerc has been growing increasingly frustrated with Ferrari in recent races, and the Monegasqye driver had another heated exchange on the radio in Qatar.

Tensions were high at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as Leclerc finished behind teammate Carlos Sainz in fourth. The 27-year-old had overtaken the Spaniard and Pierre Gasily for second after the first corner.

But his attempt to pass George Russell for the lead destroyed his tyres and he let his teammate through before the first pit stops. Sainz returned the favour to Leclerc later in the race, but got back through after undercutting the Monegasque driver at the final pit stops.

Leclerc tried to get back past but to no avail as he missed out on a podium finish. Leclerc was left furious after the race as he vented his anger to his race engineer over the team radio, stating he was fed up with being ‘the nice guy.’

Eddie Jordan was left shocked by Leclerc’s outburst as he never would have thought that would come from the 27-year-old. Ferrari would have been hoping to put the drama behind them heading into the Qatar Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc vents more frustrations at his Ferrari race engineer at the Qatar Grand Prix

But in Sprint qualifying, Leclerc was heard in another angry exchange of words with his race engineer Bryan Bozzi during the Sky Sports F1 broadcast. The Monagasque driver lines up fifth for the Sprint race on Saturday behind Sainz in fourth.

Leclerc appeared to be frustrated with the traffic on track, and he was not impressed with the information Bozzi was feeding him.

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“It’s a nightmare. I have no idea. Tell me a bit more [about the] cars behind because I have no idea what’s going on,” said Leclerc in an unbroadcasted message.

“Tell me the cars that are fast please! That’s it.”

“Yeah Charles, I know. There are many cars, I’m trying my best,” replied Bozzi.

Ferrari are battling McLaren and Red Bull for the Constructors’ Championship

Leclerc cannot afford to get bogged down in Qatar as Ferrari are in a position to challenge for the Constructors’ Championship. The Maranello squad have not won the championship since the 2008 season.

Ferrari are 24 points behind McLaren with two races to go. Leclerc and Sainz took a chunk out of the Woking-based outfit’s lead by finishing third and fourth in Las Vegas, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could only manage sixth and seventh.

Red Bull are 29 points further behind in third, with Sergio Perez’s performance severely hampering the team’s title defence. The Mexican has not finished on the podium since the Chinese Grand Prix while teammate Max Verstappen has won eight races and sealed his fourth drivers’ title in Las Vegas.

McLaren must outscore Ferrari by 21 points to confirm their first constructors’ title since 1998. Qatar is a circuit that suits McLaren with its high-speed corners, and Norris took full advantage of that by securing pole for the Sprint race, with Piastri lining up third.