F1 News: Leclerc explains asking for team orders in Brazil
Charles Leclerc was one of many drivers to find themselves in controversy at the Brazilian GP after asking Ferrari to let him pass teammate Sainz.
Sainz and Leclerc were running in 3rd and 4th, respectively, following a late Safety Car restart at Interlagos.
Fernando Alonso was consistently within 1.4 seconds of Leclerc in the closing stages of the race, as the Spaniard hounded the Monegasque in his A522 machine.
Despite this danger, Charles Leclerc asked Ferrari to orchestrate a swap between himself and Carlos Sainz.
Sainz was several seconds ahead at this stage, so it would have been impractical for Ferrari to execute this manoeuvre between the two drivers.
Leclerc was evidently frustrated on team radio in any case, unhappy that Ferrari did not make a sacrifice to improve his fight for second in the Championship.
This team radio exchange was very uncharacteristic for the Ferrari driver, who is typically compliant with the team during races.
Speaking to the media after the race, Leclerc explained the reason for his request:
"I don't normally ask [for] these types of things, but we had these discussions prior to that race, so that's why I asked about it.
"For some reason, we changed our mind on that - I don't know yet, the reason.
"Hopefully, we will be quick enough in Abu Dhabi to get that second place. I just hope we won't be lacking second place by three points or something like that.
"All in all, with my performance, I'm happy. Obviously, the first lap [incident with Norris after the first Safety Car], I need to rewatch the images.
"I felt like I left enough space for Lando, but I think he had a moment and touched me, and then I went into the well.
"Towards the end, we had good pace and finished P4, which is a great result overall."
Leclerc's frustrations with Ferrari have surely accumulated throughout the year, as the Scuderia has consistently cost him crucial results.
That said, Ferrari will be eager to maintain a good dynamic within the garage as they look to make a recovery in 2023.