Formula 1: Former F1 driver David Coulthard feels that Charles Leclerc will be the ‘real deal’ if he is able to overcome the mistakes under pressure that he commits and then only he can be able to beat Max Verstappen for the F1 title. Follow Formula 1 updates on InsideSport.IN
For Leclerc, the 2022 title has essentially gotten past him, yet Coulthard accepts he can be right in the blend if he can remove his blunders. “Go back to Azerbaijan [qualifying in 2019] in the Ferrari, he popped it into the wall at the chicane and said ‘I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid’. He’s not stupid, he’s a brilliantly fast racing driver. But he’s still maturing in front of the public eye,” Coulthard said.
“He’s under the biggest pressure in Formula 1, representing Ferrari. It’s more than a racing company, it’s a country, it’s a worldwide Tifosi. Once he’s ironed out those little errors – and let’s remind ourselves Max Verstappen made errors like that in his early career – he will be the real deal,” Coulthard added.
After winning two of the initial three races of the year, Leclerc arose as the primary hindrance in Max Verstappen’s title defense. But, from that point forward things have commonly gone in the Red Bull star’s direction.
His group has not helped the Monegasque by the same token. Ferrari have made a few high-profile strategic errors, most recently at the Hungarian Grand Prix where Leclerc’s tyre plan was messed up. In contrast, the Italian group have likewise needed to fight with unreliable power units and DNFs during some races.
LAP 55/70
Leclerc is back into the pits to swap his hard tyres for softs.#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/4Iwf9i2pQK
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
In any case, Leclerc should bear a portion of the fault himself. A careless twist at Imola cost him the opportunity to grab a handful of points from Verstappen, yet an accident while driving at the French Grand Prix demonstrated more expensive and opened the doorway for the Dutchman to move 25 points further clear.
After 13/22 rounds 👀#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Jqvyb3OBOb
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
Meanwhile, the gap is 80 points after the first 13 races and no racer in F1 history has at any point defeated such a deficiency to bring home the title. It will be interesting to see how Ferrari and Leclerc react after the summer break is over.
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