Charles LecLerc Calls For 'Tear-Offs' Ruling As Ferrari Look To Bounce Back

Charles Leclerc on Thursday called for a clear ruling to prevent drivers throwing visor 'tear-offs' on the track during races, after his hopes of success in Belgium were ruined by a Max Verstappen discard. Speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix, the second race in a trio of events that wind up the European part of this year's championship, the Ferrari driver made clear he did not blame his rival. Last weekend, a tear-off dropped by Red Bull's world champion and runaway series leader ended up making its way into a brake duct of the Ferrari, causing the brakes to overheat.

That, in turn, led to an unscheduled early pit stop that wrecked Leclerc's hopes of a desperately-needed victory.

Verstappen, from 14th on the grid, won convincingly to lead his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by 93 points in the championship and Leclerc by 98.

"Obviously, I am not angry with Max, not at all," stressed the 24-year-old Monegasque driver.

"It's clearly not the fault of the drivers... But, maybe, we can look at something to find a way to keep these tear-offs somewhere in the car."

Several drivers removed tear-offs on the opening lap last Sunday due to fluids and dusty materials being thrown up from the asphalt following collisions, notably that of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

In addition to the brakes problem it caused, Verstappen's tear-off also neutralised a sensor in Leclerc's car which led to him breaking the pit-lane speed limit and being given a five-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to sixth.

Leclerc added: "It would be good to find a solution because, in that particular situation, I think somebody was losing oil or something and I could not see anything with my visor.

"It was the same for all