Charles Leclerc has again waved away the suggestion that there are tensions within Ferrari after a frustrating weekend for the Monegasque at the British Grand Prix.
He was annoyed in the early stages of the race as he felt he was losing time while behind team-mate Carlos Sainz. And then late on he was not pitted when the safety car was deployed, while the Spaniard did come in for fresh rubber and went on to win the race.
Having been in the lead, Leclerc crossed the line fourth and soon after had a trackside conversation with a stern-looking Mattia Binotto. The team boss was spotted wagging his finger at the young racer, though the Italian claimed he was praising a "fantastic race" from the driver.
The Italian press is adamant that there are divisions within the team, though. One report claimed that some of Leclerc's engineers refused to take part in a photograph celebrating Sainz's win over anger at the strategy call which cost the Monegasque.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Leclerc admitted some people had skipped the photo but said the reason was logistical. "It is a shame to see all of these type of things, because it is definitely not what is happening inside the team", he said. "We're a very united team – we always have been – it is not these difficult races that will make that change.
"Of course, I was very disappointed after last weekend – we were one and two, and we finished one and four. So of course some parts of the team were disappointed, but this was definitely not the reason for not everybody being on the [Sainz celebration] picture.
"Half of the team who stayed for the picture missed the plane to go back home, so that was quite tricky. We wanted to do a first picture, but Carlos was not there so we had to delay everything. But there are no hard feelings whatsoever.
"Of course there is disappointment, because on my side I was leading the race and finished fourth. But everyone was very happy for Carlos, and this is the feeling that there is inside the team. We need to be better for these things not to happen again."
Meanwhile, Leclerc and Binotto were spotted having dinner in Monaco earlier this week. Gazzetta dello Sport claimed the meal was organised "to permanently cancel the post-race tension" and to "strengthen a frayed relationship".
But former Ferrari press officer Alberto Antonini claims that the definitely is division, and insisted the story about some engineers refusing to celebrate Sainz's win is true. "I have been told – and I trust the source – an ugly episode that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Silverstone race," said the Italian.
"Part of the Ferrari staff allegedly refused, at least initially, to attend the podium ceremony and photo op. If true, as I fear, this is not a good sign. A little healthy rivalry inside the garage is fine, it is fine for each mechanic and each technician to cheer for 'his' driver, but the common interest must be to aim to win."
