Ferrari's efforts to prevent Charles Leclerc from speaking out were not effective during a particularly disappointing weekend for the team at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Following a victorious run from the pole position in Monaco, Leclerc, along with Ferrari, arrived in Montreal with high expectations set by notable figures like Lando Norris (McLaren) and Dr. Helmut Marko (Red Bull), who tagged him as a favorite to win.
However, Ferrari's performance was notably lackluster throughout the event, culminating in Leclerc bowing out due to an engine issue and his teammate Carlos Sainz also failing to complete the race.
This setback severely impacted Leclerc's standing in the championship, ballooning his gap behind Max Verstappen to an imposing 56 points.
"They obviously had a bit of an off weekend," commented George Russell from Mercedes.
In an apparent bid to limit negative commentary, a Ferrari press officer discreetly showed Leclerc a message on her phone just before a media interaction.
"I'll say what I want," a visibly upset Leclerc retorted in a low voice.
During his interview with French broadcaster Canal Plus, he described the race as "Hell from start to finish."
"We had a problem with the engine in the first laps, losing 1 or 2 seconds on the straights. We lost 20-25kph in a straight line. We reset the car and it worked a little better but then the torque was very inconsistent - it was impossible to drive."
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