Leclerc: No truth to rumors of 'division inside Ferrari'

Charles Leclerc strongly denied reports in the Italian media this week that the Monegasque's defeat in the British Grand Prix following Ferrari's strategy choices last weekend had sowed division at the Scuderia.

Leclerc was clearly unhappy with the outcome of the race at Silverstone where a late safety car and a misguided strategy call saw him drift from first to fourth in the race's final ten laps.

The disappointing result for Leclerc capped an event in which the latter had also been denied an opportunity by the Ferrari pitwall to overtake future race winner Carlos Sainz although he was faster at the time than the Spaniard.

At the end of the day, the strategy calls and a post-race chat in parc fermé between Leclerc and Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto led many to believe that the former is growing increasingly frustrated with his team's race management, which have twice left Leclerc getting the short end of the stick this season.

After Silverstone, the Italian media interpreted the situation as such and hinted at division setting in at the House of Maranello. But Leclerc strongly denied the gossip.

"This is really untrue," he said on Thursday in Austria. "And I wish I didn't have to get [into this] because this is the exact question I've got everywhere else. And I wish I wouldn't need to fight for these types of things.

"We are extremely united. Is there a disappointment after the last race because we finished first and fourth? Yes, there was.

"Were we very, very happy that Carlos won his first race? Yes, we were honestly.

"But obviously before the safety car, you are first and second and you finish the race first and fourth. So there's some kind of disappointment too.

"But there's not any kind of division inside the team, that's for sure."

• Read also: Ferrari's Binotto stands by Silverstone strategy calls

On social media, a video emerged of Leclerc and Binotto leaving the Hotel de Paris in Monaco earlier this week after a private dinner.

The Ferrari driver confirmed the encounter but insisted it was just a one-on-one with the Scuderia boss in his hometown like many that he enjoys over the course of the year.

"Well, obviously there's been quite a lot of talks about the two events in the last few days," said Leclerc, referring to his post-race chat and his mid-week dinner with BInotto.

"He was first quite angry with me after Silverstone, because he saw me extremely down, which obviously he understood.

"But he just wanted to make sure that I was okay, and that I realised that I had done also an amazing job considering the situation I found myself in after the safety car.

"Then in Monaco, this is something that we usually do. He came to Monaco, because the last five races have been quite hard on me. And I just wanted to stay home, disconnect a bit from everything, to be fully 100 percent for this weekend."

Leclerc suggested that Ferrari had drawn a few lessons from its race in Silverstone which have already yielded changes in the team's communication processes.

"For me personally, I think there's nothing I could have done differently in a way," he said.

"As a team, I think we have changed already a few things, just in the way of the communication throughout the race to be ready in that particular moment.

"Once a safety car is out, then you need to take a decision, and if you're not ready for that, then it is tricky. So yeah, as a team, we have changed a few things. And I won't go too much into detail."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter