"This one was very public and costly"- Charles Leclerc 'cannot afford to continue' making mistakes if he wants to beat Max Verstappen, feels two-time F1 champion

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc cannot afford any more mistakes in the fight for the championship after the 2022 F1 French GP, according to Mika Hakkinen. The former F1 champion believes the Monegasque driver needs to work on maximizing every weekend henceforth to be able to still be a part of the title battle.

Writing on his blog on Unibet about Sunday's race, Hakkinen said:

“Everyone makes mistakes but this one was very public and costly. I have had the same experience, for example when I went off while leading the Italian Grand Prix in 1999, and it is a really difficult experience. You know what you have done, thrown away the win and you have to accept responsibility. Charles [Leclerc] is a fantastic driver and had driven perfectly until lap 18. He took a lot of pressure from Max [Verstappen], but the Ferrari was very good in the quick corners and he was able to keep the Red Bull behind.”

Hakkinen felt Charles Leclerc’s mistakes cost him heavily and could have resulted due to pressure from Max Verstappen, which in turn lost the Ferrari driver the win, despite his car's pace advantage in the race.

Praising the Dutch champion’s flawless race on the Circuit Paul Ricard and summarizing the battle, the double champion said:

“The way the Ferrari and Red Bull were so closely matched around Paul Ricard was brilliant, but Charles’ mistake ended the battle. From then on it was easy for Max, he controlled the race, looked after his tyres, and took another important step towards the championship title.”

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Mika Hakkinen feels Charles Leclerc needs to focus on one weekend at a time

Mika Hakkinen suggested that Charles Leclerc needs to respond to his mistakes by continuing to focus on the positives and work relentlessly. The former McLaren driver felt that Leclerc needed to believe in his talent and his car’s ability to win races. The Finnish champion recommended that the Ferrari driver focus on the upcoming race weekends one at a time.

Advising the 24-year-old to focus only on the positives, Hakkinen said:

“What’s important now is how Charles responds to this mistake. As he said after the race, he has lost 32 points due to mistakes in Imola and Paul Ricard, and he cannot afford to continue doing that if he wants to beat Max. On top of that, Ferrari have also had strategy and reliability issues. What’s important is that Charles recognises that he has the talent and the car needed to win races, and he just needs to focus on the positives and take each weekend as it comes. One race at a time. That’s all you can do, concentrate on each race, focus on doing everything right.”

Max Verstappen has now increased his championship lead to 63 points in the drivers’ title. With 10 more race weekends left on the calendar, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari will have to maximize every weekend in the next 10 races if they are to have a shot at the title.