"He just pulls this magical qualifying lap" - F1 pundit dissects claims of Charles Leclerc being the best qualifier

Charles Leclerc's prowess over one-lap was recently analyzed and praised by F1 pundit Scott Mitchell Malm.

The Ferrari driver bagged five pole positions in the 2023 F1 season, which increased his career-long pole figure to 23. Although Leclerc was unable to convert those five pole positions into victories, he was still appreciated for his pace over one lap.

On The Race F1 podcast, Scott analyzed how Leclerc performs brilliantly in qualifying sessions, even in tough situations.

"With Leclerc, I think there is an operating window for him where even if everything is not there, he just pulls this magical qualifying lap almost out of nowhere. He seems to transcend the car's level or ability and what seems to be possible in that given moment. When the conditions are there, he is just sensational," the F1 pundit said.

Furthermore, Scott Mitchell Malm claimed that, from the current F1 grid, he would pick the Leclerc if his life depended on a qualifying lap.

"And I think...If you have to pick a driver, if you have to pick a driver with your life on the line to do a qualifying lap, from the current grid, I think I'll pick Leclerc," he added.

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F1 pundit pinpoints Charles Leclerc's flaw preventing him from winning world championships like Max Verstappen

Former F1 driver-turned-pundit Johnny Herbert recently claimed that Charles Leclerc's chances of winning a world championship are slim, mainly because he makes too many mistakes.

Herbert stated that other world champions like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton do not make such mistakes, especially when they are in title contention and dominate the field.

“If I was to be critical, the only thing that I suppose we’ve all seen are those mistakes. And those mistakes is something you don’t see from Max, you don’t really see that from Lewis. There have been a couple maybe in the last couple of years, but I think overall, when he was winning the championships, they did not happen,” he told PlanetF1.

Herbert explained that by making continuous errors, one can't put himself in a position to clinch the world title.

Leclerc came closest to winning the championship in 2022 when he was in the title picture at the beginning of the season.

However, his and Ferrari's performances dipped drastically while Verstappen and Red Bull continued to consistently win races.