"The more pressure he gets, the better he will perform" - Former teammate expects Charles Leclerc to thrive under the pressure of fighting at the front

Marcus Ericsson recently claimed that he expects Charles Leclerc to be able to handle and thrive on the pressures of fighting for his first championship. Ericsson partnered with Leclerc in Alfa Romeo during the 2018 F1 season.

As reported by Motorsports, the Swede reflected on his time with Leclerc as a teammate back in 2018, emphasizing that the latter's dedication and innate talent would take him a long way in F1. Ericsson said:

“There’s no doubt about that, everyone sees that. He’s so dedicated and eager to do well and learn. He always asked me a lot of questions. He is so critical of himself when making mistakes. He does learn from that, by the way. This is also one of his stronger qualities. He makes mistakes, learns from them, and comes back stronger. It’s good to see that this year he has a car that can fight at the forefront. He also lives up to it. He’s a cool frog. The more pressure he gets, the better he’s going to perform.”

Given Leclerc's significantly better performance in the 2022 season so far, Ericsson admitted that the Monegasque's teammate Carlos Sainz will soon have to play the role of the 'No.2' driver at Ferrari. He said:

“Charles [Leclerc] is increasingly taking on the role of leader. I think they should support him for the championship, although Carlos [Sainz] will not agree. The past proves that a team is always good to choose a leader in these situations. That was of course also true for Max [Verstappen] and Lewis [Hamilton]. I think it will eventually go in Charles’s direction.”

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc currently leads the world championship with a 19-point gap to reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

---

"Just wasn’t enough today" - Charles Leclerc disappointed to lose out on race win in Miami

Charles Leclerc lost out on his third win of the 2022 F1 season to Max Verstappen at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend. Despite starting on pole with teammate Carlos Sainz in P2, the 24-year-old found Red Bull's pace advantage on the straights to be a nightmare in Miami.

In a post-race media interaction, the Ferrari driver reflected on the disappointing fight against Verstappen, saying:

“All in all, we had a good weekend here in Miami, so of course I am disappointed to miss out on first place. While we had good pace on the Hard tyres, it was more tricky for us on the Mediums which our competitors [Red Bull] were just faster on today, so we couldn’t close the gap in the first stint. I thought we’d have a shot at taking back the lead after the Safety Car, but it just wasn’t enough today.”

The cars will next hit the track in Barcelona, where Ferrari is expected to bring upgrades to its car.