Ferrari present indicators of progress in Canadian GP as David Coulthard praises improved communication with Charles Leclerc
Ferrari as soon as once more left the Canadian Grand Prix on the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal grappling with their place within the 2025 Formulation 1 pecking order, as they appeared to have solely the fourth-fastest automobile in Montreal. Whereas Mercedes joined McLaren and Pink Bull within the checklist of race winners this season—due to a commanding drive from George Russell—Ferrari have been left making an attempt to salvage factors amid a irritating weekend.
McLaren have emerged because the dominant drive in 2025, constantly setting the tempo, however Pink Bull and Max Verstappen have ensured a aggressive title combat by staying in shut pursuit. Amid this, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have been restricted to fifth and sixth-place finishes respectively at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Lewis Hamilton encountered points throughout the race, together with brake complaints over group radio and harm to his flooring after an unlucky collision with a groundhog. In the meantime, Charles Leclerc made regular beneficial properties following a difficult qualifying session however was by no means actually in competition for a podium end, which might have been his fourth of the yr.
Regardless of the modest end result, former F1 driver David Coulthard noticed a key improvement that steered progress inside the Ferrari camp. He picked up on a second of in-race radio communication between Charles Leclerc and his race engineer Bryan Bozzi that, in his view, mirrored a extra assertive and coherent operational strategy—one thing the Scuderia has been criticized for missing in current seasons.
David Coulthard applauds Ferrari’s authoritative race name with Leclerc in Montreal
Whereas working as a part of Channel 4’s broadcast group for the Canadian Grand Prix, Coulthard famous a radio change through which Charles Leclerc’s engineer instructed him to modify to “Plan B.” Leclerc, nevertheless, countered with a choice for “Plan C,” which his engineer acknowledged with out debate. In accordance with the previous Formulation 1 driver, this simple and decisive interplay marked a notable change in Ferrari’s strategic demeanor.
David Coulthard later remarked that such a communication was one thing Ferrari had traditionally struggled with, typically exhibiting hesitancy or conflicting directions. In his evaluation, the readability and alignment between driver and group in Montreal represented a optimistic shift. He believed that when a group and its driver are absolutely in sync, it breeds confidence and finally results in improved efficiency on observe.
Charles Leclerc’s technique questions spark criticism from Valsecchi and Villeneuve
However, not all observers have been satisfied by Charles Leclerc’s conduct throughout the race. The Monegasque driver, who has questioned Ferrari’s technique a number of instances this season, later expressed doubts over the group’s selections in Montreal as nicely. He indicated that he believed a one-stop technique may need been viable, though that may have required an extended last stint on the medium tyres.
The late-race security automobile introduced out by Lando Norris’ crash may have allowed the Ferrari driver to pit with minimal time loss, however by that stage, he might have already compromised his efficiency with extreme tyre put on. In a race the place tyre degradation proved a serious problem, the result of any alternate technique remained speculative at finest.
Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve weighed in on the radio messages, suggesting that Ferrari wanted higher cohesion between the pit wall and the cockpit. Whereas his criticism was measured, he did level to a scarcity of constant alignment as one thing the group should tackle going ahead.
Nonetheless, Davide Valsecchi was much more direct. The Italian pundit dismissed Charles Leclerc’s in-race commentary and said that the motive force ought to deal with his efficiency fairly than second-guessing technique selections mid-race. The 2012 GP2 Sequence champion implied that given the Monegasque’s errors earlier within the weekend, he wasn’t in a powerful place to critique the group’s calls and insisted that it was time for him to focus on execution fairly than questioning directions.
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