"One of the most surprising things I've ever seen" - Max Verstappen would never make mistakes like Charles Leclerc, feels F1 pundit

Charles Leclerc had his "2018 F1 German GP" moment at the 2022 F1 French GP when the Ferrari driver binned his car into the wall while leading the race. There were some harsh similarities between what happened with Charles Leclerc and what Sebastian Vettel did all those years back in the same team.

F1 pundit Peter Windsor admitted he was shocked to see the strange turn of events and could not understand why the Monegasque was pushing this hard when there was no pressure from behind. Windsor said:

“That was one of the most surprising things I’ve ever seen. At that point in the race he had nobody left in his mirrors, Lewis Hamilton was six seconds behind and Max [Verstappen] was coming in for his second set of tyres. He wasn’t relaxing, but at that point, he could just drive as he wanted without having to defend against Max.’’

Arguably one of the more scathing remarks for the Ferrari-Charles Leclerc combination was Windsor admitting that one would never see something like this happen to Max Verstappen at Red Bull because Sergio Perez is not challenging him at every move in the same team, something that Charles Leclerc has to contend with every time.

“It’s something you would never see happen to Max. Not just because he is Max, but also because Sergio Perez is the one driving the other car.’’

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Charles Leclerc: If I drive this way I don't deserve a title

Charles Leclerc was notably distraught after the race and when questioned whether it was a car failure or a mistake, the Ferrari driver was honest enough to admit that it was his mistake. Speaking to the media after the crash, Leclerc said:

“I didn’t look at the data yet but a mistake…I will look at it but I’m pretty sure it’s just a mistake.’’

When questioned if this mistake could be the one that ultimately costs him the title at the end of the season, the Ferrari driver admitted that if he loses the title by just 20 or 30 points at the end of the season, then he'll know where he lost those points. He said:

“We will count at the end but if we are missing only 20 or 30 points I will know where I lost it and it will be on me! Between Imola and here…if I keep driving like that I don’t deserve to win.’’

The Ferrari driver is 63 points behind Max Verstappen and with Red Bull sorting out its reliability, it's a mountain to climb for Leclerc in the championship.