Formula 1: Ferrari still told Charles Leclerc not to pass Sebastian Vettel

After promising no team orders in the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari still told Charles Leclerc not to pass Sebastian Vettel for the lead of the 2019 Formula 1 season’s second race.

Prior to qualifying for the second race of the 2019 Formula 1 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto stated that there would be no team orders favoring either of the team’s two drivers, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, during the race.

This announcement came after Leclerc was restricted from passing the clearly slower Vettel for fourth place as the laps wound down in the season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, despite the fact that the team stated before the season began that their two drivers would be allowed to race each other.

Here is what Binotto had to say about the matter in regard to the Bahrain Grand Prix, according to GP Fans.

"“Charles is allowed to go as fast as he can. He’s allowed to go for pole, he’s allowed to stay ahead. We are not stopping him doing that. I think it is important that our two drivers are not fighting and taking any risks battling together. But no doubt, if on the first lap Charles is ahead he will stay. If at the end of the race he is ahead he will stay ahead.”"

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Leclerc then went on to take the pole position, the first pole position of his Formula 1 career, for this 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) Bahrain International Circuit road course in Sakhir, Bahrain by recording a track record lap time of 87.886 seconds (137.756 miles per hour) in the third and final round of qualifying for the race.

Vettel qualified alongside of the 21-year-old Monegasque on the front row in second place with a top lap time of 88.160 seconds (137.328 miles per hour) in this third and final round of qualifying for the race. At the start of the race, he passed Leclerc for the lead.

Apparently that was enough for the team that promised no team to commit to prioritizing Vettel.

Leclerc quickly fell back to third place as well, as Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas passed him for second, at which point he had fallen several seconds behind Vettel.

But the first-year Ferrari driver quickly found speed and passed Bottas back for second place before consistently recording laps several tenths faster than Vettel. He quickly ran Vettel down and was clearly faster than he was. However, Ferrari, as per tradition, decided to get involved in an attempt to keep Vettel out front.

As he approached his teammate, Leclerc told his race engineer, “I’m quicker, guys.” Several seconds later, his race engineer confirmed he had received Leclerc’s message with a “copy”. Several seconds after that, he told Leclerc, “Stay there for two laps. Stay there for two laps.”

Fortunately for Leclerc, Ferrari and Formula 1 fans in general, Leclerc ignored this team order and sailed past his four-time champion teammate the following lap en route to dominating the race, which he ultimately failed to win due to an engine issue that relegated him to third place. Vettel, meanwhile, finished in fifth after spinning out and losing his front wing.

Here is what Leclerc had to say about the matter after the race, according to RaceFans.

"“It’s always a tricky situation when you get to fight your teammate because the risks are very high. As in every team, I think, they warn you before the race: OK, you can try things on different people, but with your team-mate, please be careful. Which is something normal. But I had the opportunity on lap five and I didn’t hesitate, I just [went] for it. I was happy it was successful the first time I tried, especially after the bad start. So, yeah, happy with how it ended up.”"

Sure, this wasn’t a matter of “staying ahead” of Vettel like Binotto discussed. But it was a matter of once again trying to relegate a clearly faster Leclerc, who was far “ahead” in the speed category, to a position behind Vettel.

What happened to “Charles is allowed to go as fast as he can”? Additionally, who knows whether or not “two laps” really meant two laps? Based on Ferrari’s history with team orders, it wouldn’t be surprising if it didn’t.

At this point, it would make sense for Las Vegas to have odds on which race will be the first race of the 2019 Formula 1 season during which Ferrari don’t use team orders in an attempt to keep Charles Leclerc behind Sebastian Vettel. Will this ever change, and if so, when?