"He needs to have a touch of bravery" - Charles Leclerc 'little bit ahead' of George Russell, according to F1 pundit

F1 pundit Peter Windsor has said that Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren's George Russell have raw speed, but Leclerc is a bit ahead of Russell in the pecking order.

Both Leclerc and Russell are known for their prowess behind the wheel and can pull out amazing laps from their cars. However, Windsor said that Leclerc has a bit more margin in his driving style compared to the Mercedes driver.

During his live stream on his YouTube channel, he said:

"Both Charles and George have the raw speed. George is slightly different, as he has got this incredible pace that is absolutely on the edge. He's got less margin with which to play when things don't go quite the way maybe the engineers would predict with the setup of the car."

Windsor continued:

"I don't think George has got quite as big a vocabulary as Charles in that respect. But he's so quick and courageous and brave and confident. I think the way George drives, he needs to have a touch of bravery. whereas I don't think great drivers like Lewis, Max or Charles need necessarily to be brave."

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"He was not given preference, wrong strategy or strategy that benefited & covered the team" - Former F1 champion on Charles Leclerc

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has said that Charles Leclerc needs to be more forceful like Max Verstappen and George Russell. He said on the F1 Nation podcast:

"Because a team might say something, which is detrimental, and this is what happened with Charles Leclerc. He was not given preference, the wrong strategy or the strategy that benefited and covered the team from a competitive point of view but put him at a disadvantage to his teammate. Because you have this contradiction in our sport where you have two championships going at the same time and the teams run everything."

Hill continued:

"The drivers have very little control, and this is why Max is so forceful, and I've heard a similar thing about George Russell. He is very forceful, and you might even say Carlos Sainz at Ferrari – they direct to the team. (Drivers like) Fernando Alonso, direct the team from the cockpit, and they can swing it. If a team is not bothered either way, then it is possible to get what you want for your strategy for a particular race, but you have to think quickly."

It will be fascinating to see if Charles Leclerc adopts a more firm stance while interacting with his team during races.