The relationship between a Formula 1 driver and their race engineer is crucial. Things are bound to go wrong if they’re not in sync with each other. Take the example of Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase. When was the last time one of the reigning world champion’s race weekends went horribly wrong? Struggling to think of one? That’s because it hasn’t happened in the recent past. That’s how good the chemistry between the two is. Now take the example of Charles Leclerc and Xavier Marcos Padros. When was the last time they weren’t in sync? Qualifying at the British GP.

A race engineer is supposed to know everything their driver is doing, including when they’re on a cool-down lap or a fast lap. Considering the race engineer does everything from communicating information to their driver to keeping track of their speed on the track, you would think figuring out whether or not their driver is on a fast lap would be simple. That’s precisely where Xavi went wrong during qualifying and had to bear the brunt of Leclerc’s wrath.

Toward the end of Q2, Leclerc put in a fast lap that took him into the top 10, but considering everyone on track was improving, he decided to follow it up with another fast lap. Xavi didn’t realize this and said, “Watch for Ocon behind pushing.” Silverstone is a fast circuit with fast corners and requires a lot of concentration, especially during qualifying. Considering Leclerc was on a fast lap, hearing his engineer alert him of someone else would have been disturbing, which is precisely why Charles shouted, “I AM PUSHING. I AM PUSHING.”

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This not only showed how out of sync the two are but also how angry Leclerc could get if pushed far enough. Fans witnessed another side to the Monegasque; they are all for it.

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Charles was audibly frustrated with his engineer after the disturbance and lashed out in a manner he rarely displays. As much as fans loved this alter ego to Charles’ usual calm exterior, they were also frustrated with Xavi and took to Twitter to express it. A few fans cheered Charles on for showing his angrier side, calling it his “villain era.” They were all for him showing his frustration toward his engineer.

Others called Xavi out for not knowing Charles was on a push lap. Race engineers are supposed to provide a sense of calm to their drivers because driving at upwards of 300kmph is already stressful enough. But Xavi’s radio messages are anything but.

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Many fans asked Ferrari to fire Xavi for not knowing that Charles was on a fast lap, among other instances in the past that have shown he and Charles aren’t the perfect match.

What did you think about Xavi and Leclerc’s back and forth on the radio?

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