Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was not happy with the instructions given to him by his race engineer on the formation lap during the treacherous conditions of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc finished in third place at the chequered flag of the Belgian Grand Prix, securing his fifth podium in a season which has been marred by inconsistency by the Italian racing giant.
The haul of points wasn’t enough for him to leapfrog George Russell in the standings, but it did add to the lead he has over teammate Lewis Hamilton, which now stands at 30 points.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 266 2 250 3 185 4 157 5 139 6 109
Hamilton congratulated Leclerc after his fourth third-place finish of the season, highlighting his ability to get to grips with the rear suspension upgrade Ferrari brought to their SF-25 in time for the Sprint weekend.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Charles Leclerc was frustrated by his Ferrari race engineer’s demands amid the tough conditions
During the initial formation lap that saw the cars do a lap of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit before race control red-flagged the Grand Prix, Leclerc vented his frustrations with the instructions given by his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, over the team radio.
The Monegasque driver made his feelings clear at the beginning of the lap, stating ‘no switches, even in the slow laps, please,’ due to the visibility on offer because of the heavy rain.
Following further instructions from Bozzi to his driver over the course of the formation lap, Leclerc reiterated his earlier point: “I repeat myself. The switches, please. Like you have no idea what it’s like out there. No switches, no switches. I need to warm up the tyres.
“I cannot look at my dash in these conditions. Even if I look at the track, I’m struggling because I don’t see 10 metres in front. If you ask me to look at my dash and make changes, that’s not possible.
“So, please take those comments on board, and we’ll keep them for the rest of the race. Now, let’s stay calm, but please stop with those switches.”
READ MORE: The five worst moments of Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 career
Synergy between driver and race engineer is something Ferrari has lacked during the 2025 F1 season
The back and forth between driver and race engineer is something that has become common in the team radio exchanges during different Grands Prix and their respective sessions.
Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari from a 12-season stint at Mercedes has seen him suffer from communication issues with his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami. This ‘disconnect’ between the two of them is something that the team need to iron out in order for his results to improve.
Bernie Collins expressed her concern with Ferrari’s ‘hesitant’ decision-making, referring to the culture of needing a green light from the team’s hierarchy to make important decisions that they may not be the best-placed people to do so.
Another theory on why Ferrari seems to have more issues with their driver/engineer dynamic is down to their lack of ‘creativity’ on race weekends. Red Bull engineers have been able to quickly turn around setup issues for Max Verstappen at certain points throughout the season, something that Ferrari have been lacking in.