Losing third place to Carlos Sainz in Las Vegas, Charles Leclerc launched a sweary rant over the radio as he let his race engineer Bryan Bozzi know his feelings about that.
Although Leclerc started Saturday night’s 50-lap Grand Prix behind Sainz on the grid, he overtook Pierre Gasly and then the Spaniard to run second where he put pressure on race leader George Russell.
Charles Leclerc’s F-word riddled rant
But taking too much life out of his tyres, he was one of the first to pit and spent the rest of the Grand Prix trying to fight his way back into podium contention.
Up against Sainz for P3, Leclerc emerged from his second pit stop just ahead of his team-mate.
Bozzi told him: “Carlos has been told to not overtake but it is really close, you might be just in front. He has been told to not put you under pressure. So just take care of your tyres.”
But as Sainz swooped around him, the Monegasque driver told Bozzi: “Maybe try in Spanish.”
Sainz went on to finish the Grand Prix in third place, crossing the line three seconds up on his Ferrari team-mate.
Leclerc’s anger was made clear in his radio messages to his race engineer.
Bozzi: “Pick up please.”
Leclerc: “Yes, whatever you want, as always.”
Bozzi: “Charles, you did your job. Okay. Thank you.”
Leclerc: “Yeah I did my job. But being Nice f**ks me all the f**king time. All the f**king time.
“It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful, I know I need to shut up but at one point is always the same so…
“Oh my f**king god.”
Bozzi: “Okay, but anyway you did the right thing for the team.”
Bozzi: “Pick up please.”
Leclerc: “F**king pick up what the f**k you want. And the radio is on, I am sorry.”
Fred Vasseur: “Charles! Charles!”
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This is not the first spate of tension between the Ferrari team-mates.
Clashing at the Spanish Grand Prix, Leclerc wasn’t impressed with Sainz’s antics with the Spaniard replying to that: “It’s too many times that he complains after the race about something.”
They were at it again at Silverstone, this time in qualifying where Leclerc felt Sainz had wrecked his lap: “Nice Carlos, nice, good overtake in the last corner.”
There have been other niggles during the campaign, but Leclerc has insisted in the past that too much has been made of it.
“I am quite active on social media, so I see what’s been said all around,” Leclerc told Motorsport.com. “It’s blown out of proportion, I think, with Carlos. We have a great relationship.”
Beating both McLarens under the lights in Sin City, Ferrari have closed the gap in the Constructors’ Championship to 24 points with two races remaining.
Read next: Las Vegas GP: Verstappen makes his mark with fourth title, Mercedes 1-2 in Sin City
