Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has come to the defence of Charles Leclerc after the Monegasque crashed out of the French Grand Prix.
Leclerc sealed his seventh pole of the season on Saturday with a scintillating qualifying performance, and was leading in the first sting having held off Verstappen, who then pitted.
However, the Ferrari driver made his second major mistake of the season as he span at Turn 11 but, unlike in Imola, he was unable to continue, and he suffered his third non-finish of the season.
It allowed Verstappen to go on and take victory, and Leclerc remarked after the race that it is “pointless” for him to be fighting for a championship if he is making errors like that.
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Horner appeared to feel that this was a bit of a harsh assessment from Leclerc, insisting that he and Verstappen are putting each other under a lot of pressure.
“I don’t think so,” he told Sky Sports when asked if the five-time race winner crashes too much.
“He is a very strong driver, these two guys are pushing each other so hard and these cars are right on the edge in these conditions.
“His bad luck was our good luck and it’s swung around during the course of the year.”
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto described Leclerc’s crash as a “genuine driver error,” but dismisses the notion that he is prone to crashing.
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“It is a bit of an unfair judgment,” added the Italian.
“I think that may happen when you are driving to the limit… but there is no reason certainly to blame him.”
The 52-year-old called for his driver to bounce back as he has done all season when he has faced hardship.
“We have always seen that Charles is reacting very strongly and well when he is doing mistakes,” affirmed Binotto.
“I am pretty sure he will be back in Hungary stronger and hungrier.”