Charles Leclerc set to face Christian Horner's 'frustrated at Ferrari' claim in Austin
Photo: Race Pictures
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Charles Leclerc is set to address Christian Horner's claim that he "seemed frustrated at Ferrari" when Red Bull wanted to sign him. Leclerc is likely to be grilled on the subject at this weekend's United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Carlos Sainz addressed his part of the story in Madrid, as GPblog reported in Sainz breaks silence on Horner's claims over failed Red Bull move, however, the Ferrari driver has stayed quiet so far.
The passage Leclerc will be asked about
Extracts in the book explain that Horner wanted Leclerc as Sergio Perez's replacement because the Monegasque was "fast, committed over a single lap" and "never once threw Ferrari under the bus". He also claimed that he senses that Leclerc was unhappy with the Italian team and their failure to put him into a winning position.
Charles was a team player, and I sensed he would fill the gap, were Sergio to fall away. He also seemed frustrated at Ferrari. I had spoken with his manager in Qatar the previous year, who wanted Charles to be in a winning position, and Red Bull were winning everything at that time.- Christian Horner in Drive,
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Horner met Leclerc's manager, Nicolas Todt, in 2023 and that Red Bull were still interested a year later. Horner writes that Helmut Marko eventually told him to "forget about Charles". However, given Leclerc's recent frustrations at Ferrari, the timing of the release is interesting.
Why the claim is awkward for Ferrari
Horner's book suggests Leclerc was unhappy at Ferrari, and Horner himself has been linked with working at the team, telling The Times that Ferrari was the "dream job". Ferrari responded by holding a media briefing to say that chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna had "full confidence" in Fred Vasseur.
Leclerc has already spoken out on that storyline. In Sepang, he called the speculation about Vasseur's future disrespectful and told media, including GPblog, that the team's support for its principal had never been in doubt.
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I just wish that sometimes there were less of these silly rumours going around.- Charles Leclerc in Sepang
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