Ferrari told Charles Leclerc in post-race briefing the two ways he ruined his Las Vegas Grand Prix chances

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc wasn’t able to repeat his fantastic performance at last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix this time around.

Charles Leclerc was the start of the show at last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and only Max Verstappen in his almost unstoppable RB19 denied him victory.

Adrian Newey even said Leclerc deserved to win in Las Vegas in 2023 and his overtaking move on Sergio Perez on the final lap was one of the best any driver pulled off all season.

However, on this occasion, Leclerc had to watch the podium ceremony outside the Bellagio from the media pen.

The Monegasque driver finished fourth, with teammate Carlos Sainz joining the Mercedes pair on the rostrum after Max Verstappen sealed his fourth world championship.

Leclerc was furious over the team radio after the race, telling him Ferrari engineer that he was ‘too nice’ among several expletives.

A report from Corriere dello Sport has now shared what Ferrari told Leclerc in his post-race debrief which suggests he made two crucial errors that cost him a place on the podium.

Ferrari tell Charles Leclerc the two errors he made during the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Sainz qualified behind Leclerc, but the 27-year-old overtook his teammate and Pierre Gasly to run second after the first corner.

However, his tyres quickly fell off a cliff and he allowed Sainz to pass him before making his first pit stop.

Leclerc was then allowed to pass his teammate during the next stint before the Spaniard undercut him.

Although they ran close to each other, Leclerc was never able to get back past the 30-year-old and had to settle for fourth.

The report from Corriere dello Sport suggested that the two reasons Leclerc was so angry during the race was ‘dismantled’ during the night in Ferrari’s post-race briefing.

Ferrari had only instructed Leclerc to attack Russell on the first lap before wanting him to settle into the race.

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Instead, Leclerc pushed the Brit for a second lap and that destroyed his tyres, forcing him to pit earlier than he and the team would have expected.

The second reason Leclerc was so frustrated was because Sainz’s move on him denied him the chance to catch Lewis Hamilton.

However, Ferrari then showed Leclerc the data that highlighted he was never in a position to catch his future teammate.

Ferrari fighting for their first Constructors’ Championship title since 2008

Speaking after the race in the media pen, Leclerc did well to hide his disappointment compared to his radio messages once the chequered flag had been waved.

He said: “I finished the race where I started it today, so it wasn’t that exciting, but if you look at the details it was quite an eventful one.

“Unfortunately, we degraded the fronts on the first stint on Mediums, then we were able to come back on the Hards which were working better.”

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While this didn’t tell the full story of Leclerc’s race, Ferrari will know they need to learn quickly from this race to try and secure some silverware at the end of the season.

Ferrari put a dent in championship leaders McLaren’s points advantage despite only one of their drivers finishing on the podium.

McLaren have a 24-point lead over Ferrari, with Red Bull a further 29 points behind with two Grand Prix and a Sprint Race remaining.

Leclerc can’t afford to ruin another race if he wants to deliver some silverware back to Maranello and a healthy bonus for the staff who have worked on his car all year.

It would also be an important milestone for a driver who is preparing to face what could be his toughest challenge yet when Hamilton arrives on the scene.