"That's the strength of the guys who become world champions" - F1 pundit picks one area where Charles Leclerc falls short compared to Max Verstappen

F1 pundit Johnny Herbert has pinpointed one of Charles Leclerc's weaknesses, which, he believes, has prevented the Monegasque from reaching the level at which Max Verstappen operates. The Ferrari driver is considered one of the best drivers on the current grid, but he has yet to win a World Championship.

Speaking to PlanetF1, Herbert pointed out that Charles Leclerc has made a lot of mistakes, something we haven't seen with Max Verstappen or even with Lewis Hamilton when he was in championship-winning form.

Herbert said:

“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.”

Furthermore, Herbert cited examples of legendary drivers like Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Niki Lauda, claiming how they hardly made any mistakes on their way to winning multiple World Championships. He explained that by making continuous errors one can't put himself in a position to clinch the world title.

On this, Herbert said:

“That’s the strength of the guys who become world champions, you go all the way back to Senna and Prost and Lauda and people like that, they just have that ability to do it every single time without making the errors that we do see other drivers make. And those drivers who make those errors generally can never quite turn it around to then put themselves in a position to win a World Championship.”

Charles Leclerc came the closest to winning the World Championship in 2022, when he was in proper contention at the beginning of the season. However, his and Ferrari's performances dipped while Max Verstappen continued to consistently win races. The Monegasque ended the season in second place with 308 points.

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Charles Leclerc was eager to race more after the 2023 F1 season ended

Charles Leclerc's hunger to race was not satiatied after the 2023 F1 season. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Ferrari driver said that he cannot wait to hop back in the car in 2024 after their recent upgrades.

He said:

"I wish there were more races. I can’t wait to hop back on the car and see where we are next year. What motivates me is that the year went in the positive way. The upgrades went in the right way."

Leclerc finished fifth in the 2023 F1 drivers' championship with 206 points.