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'Forgiven? No' - Ferrari holding grudge against Leclerc for skydiving in Dubai

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says he has not yet forgiven Charles Leclerc for his unsanctioned skydive during the off-season break.

Leclerc opted for a post-season adrenaline rush when jumping from 13 000 feet in Dubai - but he did not clear it beforehand with Ferrari.

Leclerc said he usually does ask for permission when planning off-track activities, but had a different approach for the skydive attempt.

Leclerc said at the AutoSport International Show in January: "I didn't (ask for permission) for skydiving, because I just told myself that in case it will go wrong I will not be here to be told off! So, yeah, I just went for it, and then they were a little bit upset. At the end, I won't do it a second time.

"It was amazing. But it was just to do it once."

'The best duo'

Binotto was recently discussing his two Ferrari drivers on Italian television and brought up that now-infamous skydive attempt.

Binotto told Rai 1's 'Che tempo che fa': "Our drivers are the best duo in Formula 1. Seb is a four-time world champion, he doesn't need to be introduced.

READ: O oh! Leclerc's skydiving stunt lands him in hot water

"Charles is a boy born in our academy and it is the first time that an FDA boy has come to Ferrari. The hope is that there are others that follow him. He won a race like Monza in his second season in F1, which is a lot to achieve.

"But they also make us suffer a little bit at times. Charles jumped off within a parachute and said nothing to anyone. Forgiven? No. He said he will never do it again and I hope he understood it."

Not making predictions

Binotto was also asked for his prediction as to where Ferrari will be in the pecking order this upcoming season, but refused to make one.

He said: "We can never make a prediction. Last year we left pre-season thinking we were going to be very fast and then we had a cold shower in Australia at the beginning of the season. We only recovered at the end.

"We are young and there is still much space to grow. There are lessons to be learned from the past, such as reliability. The important thing is to grow. All the winning cycles took years. There has never been such strong opponents as there is now."

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