Charles Leclerc reveals cause behind bizarre Ferrari 'water' radio call

Charles Leclerc has revealed the cause of his bizarre radio call to Ferrari during the Australian Grand Prix.

The Monégasque reported his seat was "full of water" during the wet Melbourne race, but engineer Bryan Bozzi was initially puzzled by the message, going on to say, "It must be the water then".

Leclerc dryly replied it would be something to add to the "words of wisdom" as he went on to finish a disappointing eighth for the Scuderia following a botched strategy call by staying out too late when the rain returned on lap 44 of 57.

Reflecting on the radio before this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, Leclerc detailed the simple cause behind the spillage.

"It was an inside joke," Leclerc told media including RacingNews365 in Shanghai. "But obviously nobody could understand it from the outside. It is something with my engineer.

"We understood where it was coming from. It was coming from the drinks. So obviously I had zero drink and I was wet, but that's fine."

After overcoming the problem, Leclerc finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton, barging past his new team-mate at Turn 1, but flatly rejected the idea of it being a "consolation" following Ferrari's poor performance as it recorded eighth and 10th-place finishes. 

"It is definitely not a consolation," he added.

"To be starting seventh and eighth, and to finish seventh and 10th or seventh and ninth, I don't remember, we were both very disappointed by the result because we wanted to be fighting for the podium or win.

"I don't feel any happier in that situation; I just want to win. That is all that matters, and I wish for both of us to be fighting for wins."