The sudden rain in the first few minutes of the race forced several drivers to stop at the pits to switch to wet tires. Among them was Charles Leclerc, who, however, lost a lot of time, probably due to misunderstandings with Xavier Marcos over the team radio at the start of the 2023 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit.
The Monegasque driver, in fact, once he returned to the pit lane, had to wait for several seconds before being able to restart because the tires were missing. Car number 16 thus lost valuable time in a comeback made necessary by the qualifying error that forced Charles Leclerc to start from the ninth position.
Analyzing the team radio messages of those moments, it’s noticeable that there were communication “issues” between the Ferrari driver and his race engineer. Charles Leclerc informs the team about his return to the pit box while his Ferrari race engineer Xavier Marcos continues to provide him with weather updates. Here’s the transcript of the team radio exchange:
CL: “Box. Box to switch to intermediates.”
XM: “We expect the rain to last…”
CL: “Box.”
XM: “Okay, box.”
These few moments of confusion, however, could have had a significant impact on the time lost in the pit lane. With an average pit stop, Charles Leclerc could have temporarily ended up ahead of Verstappen. Probably the outcome of the Monegasque’s race would have been the same, as the contact with Oscar Piastri had already caused significant damage to his car.
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