Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is confident that Charles Leclerc is full of motivation for the remainder of the 2023 F1 season, despite the Monegasque having endured a nightmare start to the year.
After managing to finish second in the Drivers’ Championship last year, this season was supposed to be Leclerc’s chance to really take the fight to Max Verstappen; however, as it stands there is no chance of that happening.
Leclerc has scored just six points from the opening three rounds of the season, with the 25-year-old having already retired from two races.
Leclerc retired from the season-opener in Bahrain whilst in third, with the Monegasque having suffered a disappointing engine failure.
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He finished seventh in Saudi Arabia after recovering from 12th on the grid, with the Ferrari driver having been slapped with a 10-place grid penalty after using his two legal sets of control electronics in Bahrain.
He then retired on the opening lap of the recent Australian Grand Prix, following a racing incident with Lance Stroll.
Stroll accidentally tagged the right-rear of Leclerc and sent him into the gravel at Turn Three, where he became beached.
With Leclerc having faced so much bad luck it’s understandable why he might be lacking in motivation; however, as it stands the Ferrari boss has no concerns about the star driver.
“I have absolutely no doubt about the motivation of Charles,” Vasseur said.
“For sure the start of the season is not ideal at all. We had the DNF in Bahrain and then the penalty in Jeddah, and the DNF in Melbourne.
“It was not the at all the plan. But the motivation is still there. You know that I have a good relationship with Charles. And this won’t affect the mood.
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“But when you are jumping on Charles or Carlos or any other drivers in the TV pen 30 seconds after the race, for sure they can’t be happy.
“And I would be very frustrated if they were relaxed and happy with the situation. The most important for me to keep everybody motivated, pushing in the same direction and they are supporting the team. Carlos was there [last] week in the simulator and Charles will be there [this] week.
“The motivation is not an issue at all. For sure the results are not as expected. But we all know that.”