Sky F1's Nico Rosberg slams Charles Leclerc call despite Ferrari Italian GP pole

02 September 2023 , 20:00

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Sky F1's Nico Rosberg slams Charles Leclerc call despite Ferrari Italian GP pole

Nico Rosberg criticised Charles Leclerc for not playing "politics" at Ferrari as he watched team-mate Carlos Sainz take a famous pole position at Monza.

The Spaniard will start the Italian Grand Prix at the front, much to the delight of the vast majority of the crowd gathered at the Temple of Speed. Max Verstappen was second fastest, though Ferrari fans were also happy to see Leclerc third and so close to the Red Bull racer.

But Sky Sports pundit Rosberg feels the Monegasque should have done more to make sure it was he who got the pole position that the Tifosi craved. Leclerc had given Sainz a tow on their first lap and opted against asking for the favour to be returned in the final minutes of the session.

Speaking to Sky, team boss Frederic Vasseur expressed his belief that Leclerc was better off without a car in front of him. "I'm convinced that, without the slipstream, he's been better," asserted the Frenchman.

"For sure, you see the advantage of the slipstream in the straight line but for sure you have the disadvantage [in the corners]. Max was without the slipstream also. It was the right call."

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But Rosberg was not convinced by Vasseur's words. Instead, the 2016 world champion claimed that Leclerc made a mistake by not using his influence on the team to demand that Sainz help him out on that last lap, the way he had done the Spaniard a favour earlier in qualifying.

Rosberg said: "I remember that Fred sometimes has these special views. But, in this case, I would say it's totally not correct because we know that the tow, if you get it right here, is a huge help.

"I think Charles Leclerc probably made a mistake on the team internal politics there, because it shouldn't have been that he pulls Carlos two times in a row in Q3 on a track like Monza. He should have made sure before there that at least it's one on one in the last part of qualifying, so I think he made a mistake there."

Leclerc agreed himself that the tow would most likely have helped him to qualify even higher. The Monegasque said: "On my side I'm a bit disappointed. I obviously wanted to be first but seeing that Carlos is P1 is great for Ferrari.

"In qualifying I managed to put everything together, so I was really happy. Unfortunately, in Q3 I didn't have a slipstream. That probably cost us one position at least, but it's life. We should be happy, especially on my side. I've been struggling a lot."

Daniel Moxon