Charles Leclerc has blasted Formula 1‘s new regulations as a “f***ing joke” in a furious radio message during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Monegasque was fourth in qualifying for tomorrow’s race at Suzuka, lining up next to the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli heading yet another Mercedes front row lock-out.
This weekend’s race sees a tweak to the rules on energy in qualifying, with the FIA choosing to see cars have one less megajoule.
The new 50-50 hybrid engines are causing a significant change in how drivers tackle each lap, with natural instincts to take corners as fast as possible no longer applicable, due to the necessity of conserving energy.
Drivers therefore must now go slower in unnatural parts of the circuit in order to produce an overall faster lap time.
Leclerc originally said he was “not a fan” of the new cars as far back as last year when he sampled an early simulator iteration of them at Ferrari’s Maranello HQ.
And he certainly let his frustrations show when speaking on radio to his team.
“I honestly cannot stand these rules in qualifying,” he raged. “It’s a f***ing joke!
“I go faster in corners, I go on the throttle earlier, for f**k’s sake, I lose everything in the straight!”
The new regulations are certainly leaving drivers feeling somewhat confused as intuition is entirely out of the window, and it might be some time, if ever, before drivers will truly get used to them.
READ MORE – George Russell laments ‘really odd’ qualifying at F1 Japanese GP
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