Davide Valsecchi tells ‘flying’ 46-podium F1 star to ‘shut up and drive’ after Canadian Grand Prix complaints

The Canadian Grand Prix showed the very best of some drivers while others put in performances that left a lot to be desired.

Mercedes driver George Russell drew compliments from Max Verstappen after achieving the fourth victory of his Formula 1 career.

The pair were joined by Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the podium for the first time in Formula 1 who became the third-youngest driver to achieve that feat.

Further down the grid, the likes of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon all outperformed expectations to earn valuable points for their respective teams.

However, several teams will be looking back at the Canadian Grand Prix and wondering whether they could have done more.

Alpine’s future may be in doubt and they remain stuck at the bottom of the constructors’ championship after another pointless weekend.

Williams walked away with a single point thanks to Carlos Sainz, while Ferrari will be underwhelmed by finishing P5 and P6.

Lewis Hamilton struggled with his brakes throughout the race and hit a groundhog which destroyed part of his floor.

Charles Leclerc, who has 46 F1 podiums to his name, made his mistakes earlier in the race weekend and Davide Valsecchi was far from impressed with his approach to Sunday’s race.

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Charles Leclerc told to ‘shut up and drive’ after weekend full of ‘mistakes’ at the Canadian Grand Prix

Valsecchi was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast in the aftermath of the race in Montreal, and when discussing Ferrari, he said: “I cannot understand why the drivers keep complaining on the radio.

“Leclerc this weekend was flying, right? He had seven or eight laps in FP1, [and] he was top of the board.

“Then he crashed, [and] missed the second session and it was his fault.

“Then he got in FP3, he was second, then he got to quali, he made the mistake in his last try, he complained about [Isack] Hadjar who was far away in front.

“We can say that the frustration was because he was competitive, quickest in the first sector then he started the race and he kept complaining with the radio about the strategy.

“How is this possible? I mean, why do you keep complaining on a weekend when you can score a victory or you can stay on the podium, your weekend is full of mistakes, it’s not the right time to complain!

“It’s the right time to drive and say sorry and then it could be better and we’ll win next weekend.

“I cannot understand why the team take this situation, I cannot understand why someone is not saying, ‘Shut up and drive,’ please, you are one of the best in the world, just drive!”

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Davide Valsecchi says Ferrari would be ‘crazy’ to sack Fred Vasseur this season

Another underlying story in Canada was team principal Fred Vasseur’s long-term future at Ferrari.

Vasseur is under increasing pressure at Ferrari with the team still waiting for their first Grand Prix victory this season.

Valsecchi was asked about the stories being written about Vasseur and his Ferrari future and said: “For sure, they cannot be created from nothing because if different newspapers have written the same story someone has told something to someone.

“For sure, it’s not all invented and I’m worried for Vasseur because I don’t think that for Ferrari it’s the right time to change the team principal.

“I think it’s incredibly wrong having these rumours about changing your team principal in the middle of this season while the project for the next car with the new regulations is already started, and you are in the middle of that one.

“I think it’s crazy thinking to replace the team principal.”