Charles Leclerc, the lead driver for Scuderia Ferrari, recently shared a lunch catch-up with Gino Rosato, a longtime close aide of seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher. The meeting took place at the start of the 2024 F1 summer break following the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking a rare moment for Leclerc to connect with the Italian team’s former key figure.
Rosato, a Canadian national, was known within Ferrari for his critical behind-the-scenes role managing logistics and internal team matters rather than on-track engineering. His reputation as Ferrari’s “fix-man” stemmed from years spent resolving complex team challenges during Schumacher’s era of domination. Though he left Ferrari in 2023, Rosato has maintained strong ties with current F1 drivers, often meeting former and current racing greats.
On August 4, Rosato posted a selfie capturing the lunch moment with Leclerc and his brother Lorenzo on his Instagram story, expressing gratitude and pleasure for the reunion.
“Thanks for lunch. It was nice to catch up,” wrote Rosato, as he tagged Charles and Lorenzo Leclerc.
Even after his departure from Ferrari, Rosato stays connected within the Formula 1 paddock community, sharing past interactions with notable drivers like Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen on social media. This lunch signifies a blending of Ferrari’s rich past with its present ambitions.
Leclerc Faces Disappointment After Hungarian Grand Prix Struggles
Just one day before this reunion, Charles Leclerc experienced a frustrating Grand Prix weekend in Budapest, where despite starting from pole position, he failed to secure a podium finish. The Monegasque driver revealed his deep disappointment at the outcome of the race and expressed that he could not extract any positives from the weekend.
Leclerc acknowledged the team’s lost opportunity and emphasized the importance of seizing rare chances to win in the current season.
“Very disappointed. I don’t take any positives from this weekend when we ended the weekend like that,” said Leclerc.
“When we have one opportunity in a year to win a race, we need to take it and today we didn’t. Now we will analyze what are the reasons why we had this problem. I don’t think it’s anything that we had in our control, but we’ll check,” he added.
Technical challenges heavily affected Leclerc’s performance during the race. He reported a chassis-related issue that caused him to lose pace to competitors from McLaren in the second half of the race. Mercedes driver George Russell speculated that the performance drop might have been linked to Ferrari’s increased tire pressures late in the race, a strategic adjustment made to counterbalance the car’s unusually low ride height setting.
The Significance of the Rosato-Leclerc Meeting Amid Ferrari’s 2024 Campaign
This unexpected lunch encounter between Charles Leclerc and Gino Rosato represents more than a casual reunion; it bridges Ferrari’s acclaimed past and its current quest to regain dominance. Rosato’s insights from years embedded within the Ferrari framework hold potential value as the team seeks to resolve technical and strategic challenges evident during recent races.
Leclerc’s frustration at the Hungarian GP underlines the high stakes and limited margins for error in the current Formula 1 season. With Ferrari aiming to capitalize on any chance to win races in 2024 and beyond, maintaining strong internal support and guidance will be critical.
As the sport pauses for the summer break, the focus will now shift to analyzing technical setbacks from Budapest and preparing for upcoming races. This strategic regrouping, coupled with connections like the one between Leclerc and Rosato, will shape Ferrari’s approach during the remainder of the championship.