Charles Leclerc feels “two drivers no longer respect the gentleman agreement, not it’s a jungle” | 2023 Singapore GP. Charles Leclerc feels "two drivers no longer respect the gentleman agreement".

Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc was interviewed by Italian journalist Mara Sangiorgio for Sky Sport F1 Italia at the end of the qualifying session for the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver talked about the difficulties he has been facing this year in driving his SF-23 despite the improvements made by the Maranello team, and then commented on what happened in the third sector of the city circuit.

Charles Leclerc on the gentleman agreement

Charles Leclerc stated: “Honestly, it’s not just in the recent races. It’s been all year that I’ve been struggling because we have a car that’s a bit understeery, so I have to be very aggressive on the pedal on exit, and this makes it a bit tough for me. We are trying to improve, but we have to look at the bigger picture, and if we compare where we were at Zandvoort, compared to here, which is still a high-downforce track, we’ve made a step forward.”

Speaking about the gentleman agreement, the Monegasque driver added: “All the drivers went against this rule, and I think that was the right choice. In my opinion, the real problem is that for many years, there was the gentleman agreement, so we talked among us drivers not to overtake each other in the final sector. But let’s say that this year, one or two people did not respect this pact, and then everyone started not caring about it, and now it’s a mess because the third sector looks like a kart race. Now it’s a bit too extreme.”

The Ferrari driver concluded by saying: “I’m not saying I’ve been perfect, but now the final sector of the tracks is a jungle because we all pursue our interests to try to cross the finish line before the time runs out, but it needs to be regulated again, even though I don’t have a solution at the moment.”