Leclerc vows to change Ferrari’s stance on F1 team orders

Charles Leclerc is determined to change Ferrari’s Formula 1 team orders policy as he looks to establish himself as the team’s number one driver “as quickly as possible”.

Ferrari has already used team orders on Leclerc in the opening two rounds of the 2019 season, having instructed its new signing to hold station behind teammate Sebastian Vettel in Melbourne, before telling him to once again remain behind the German in Bahrain.

Leclerc ignored the second call in Bahrain to overtake Vettel, and he looked destined to record a deserved maiden grand prix victory until late engine issues struck on his Ferrari.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto reiterated ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix that the Italian squad will continue to prioritise Vettel, citing the four-time world champion’s experience within the team.

“On the track they are free to fight, but as I said at the start of the season, if there’s any 50-50 situation where we need to take a decision, the advantage would have been given to Sebastian, simply because Sebastian has got most of the experience with the team,” Binotto explained.

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“He won four championships and certainly for us he’s the driver who has the most probability to challenge for the title [in 2019]. Certainly as a team, we need to give the priority to the team and try to maximize the team’s points at the end of the race.

“Something we have agreed with both drivers is, in a few races’ time, things may change for whatever reason,” he added. “Bad luck or whatever could be the situation [but] we may change our position, no doubt.

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“But on the track, they’re free to fight, on the track I think if there is one driver who is certainly faster, he will get the advantage. I think that Charles, as a matter of fact, he had an opportunity to be in pole in Bahrain, he had the opportunity to fight for the win and he had position in Bahrain.”

Leclerc said he ignored the call to stay behind Vettel in Bahrain because he could not see himself lifting off due to having a “big pace advantage”.

When asked about Binotto’s most recent comments, Leclerc replied: “Well I understand in the end, as I said in the last two races.

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“Overall in a team I think we need a number one and a number two but I will make sure to change these things as quickly as possible.”

Vettel added: “This is generally a topic that is cooked much hotter than eaten. It’s always interesting for people to ask such questions.

“There are so many possibilities that can happen in the race. You saw last weekend that we don’t stand on each other’s feet when one car is faster than the other. There’s not always as much to say as there is to ask.”