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Charles Leclerc is still maturing as an F1 driver and has what it takes to become the real deal in the future, according to David Coulthard.
Leclerc started the season strong with two wins in the opening three races and led the World Drivers' Championship right up until the 2022 F1 Spanish GP.
Since then, things have mostly gone downhill for Leclerc and the Monegasque is partially to blame. In the last 10 races of the season, he only has one podium in Miami and a win in Austria to boast. While Ferrari's unreliable package and ill-conceived strategies have played a major role in his misfortunes, personal errors also need to be addressed.
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Charles Leclerc spun out while chasing the Red Bull of Sergio Perez while in P3 towards the end of the feature race in Imola. This ended up demoting the Ferrari driver to P6 in the race. More recently, Leclerc spun out while leading the 2002 F1 French GP in one of the many frustrating moments for the 24-year-old this season.
Leclerc was outwardly critical of himself for the mistake in France and David Coulthard pointed out that this has been a long-time character trait for the young driver. Speaking in an interview with Channel 4, the former F1 driver said:
“Go back to Azerbaijan [qualifying, 2019] in the Ferrari, 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, under the biggest pressure in Formula 1, that’s 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.”
Verstappen did make his fair share of errors before finding a new level in 2021 and has since become even more formidable on the track. Leclerc will need to show his maturity when the action returns to Spa-Francorchamps, where he claimed his maiden victory in F1 on a somber race weekend in 2019.
Charles Leclerc knows he needs to improve in second half of 2022 to stand a chance of winning F1 world championship
Charles Leclerc is aware that he needs to get his affairs in order for the second half of the 2022 season if he is to have any hope of winning the World Drivers' Championship this year.
The 24-year-old's frustration knew no bounds after he spun out in France and missed out on a potential haul of 25 points in his battle against Max Verstappen.
Reflecting on his costly error in front of the media after the race, Charles Leclerc said:
“I feel like I’m performing at probably the highest level of my career since the beginning of the season but there’s no point performing at this high level if I then go on to make mistakes. 32 points, 25 today as it was likely we were going to win this race. If at the end of the year we count back and it’s 32 points missing, then I know it’s coming from me and that I did not deserve to win the championship. For the second half of the season, I need to get on top of this if I want to be world champion.”
Leclerc is currently P2 in the World Drivers' Championship standings, 80 points behind Max Verstappen. To put it into perspective, the Dutchman could have three DNFs and still lead the standings.
