Charles Leclerc has been one of the star performers of 2022 so far, despite the Monegasque driver being 80 points behind Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen.
Leclerc’s title bid needs a huge revival should he stand any chance of becoming the World Champion at the end of the year, after countless Ferrari errors have dropped the 24-year-old well behind the reigning World Champion.
Leclerc suffered engine failures whilst leading in Spain and Azerbaijan, with Verstappen claiming victory at both through Leclerc’s expense.
The Ferrari driver also lost the race lead at the Monaco, British and Hungarian Grand Prix through his team’s own doing.
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The Italian team have made a number of costly strategic errors this season, which have usually come at Leclerc’s expense.
Leclerc suffered his third retirement of the season at the French Grand Prix; however, it wasn’t due to a strategic error or reliability problem.
The Monegasque span out of the race whilst leading, with the Ferrari driver then being unable to reverse out of the tyre barrier.
With Leclerc out, Verstappen once again claimed victory, with the Dutchman having claimed eight in the first half of the season.
Leclerc should’ve arguably won more than three races this season, with him being in control of a number of the races where either strategic errors or reliability problems took place.
He was heard screaming at himself at the Circuit Paul Ricard, with Leclerc having been furious at the mistake he’d made which cost him a much-needed victory.
Whilst many couldn’t believe how Leclerc was screaming at himself, ex-F1 driver David Coulthard wasn’t surprised.
Coulthard rates Leclerc as the “real deal”, with the Scot having seen a number of similarities in Leclerc’s and Verstappen’s behaviour.
“I wasn’t surprised because that’s been part of how he’s been his whole time in Formula 1,” Coulthard responded when asked on Channel 4 if he was surprised by Leclerc’s screaming.
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“Go back to Azerbaijan [qualifying, 2019] in the Ferrari, popped it into the wall at the chicane and said ‘I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid’. He’s not stupid, he’s a brilliantly fast racing driver.
“But he’s still maturing in front of the public eye, under the biggest pressure in Formula 1, that’s representing Ferrari. It’s more than a racing company, it’s a country, it’s a worldwide Tifosi.
“Once he’s ironed out those little errors – and let’s remind ourselves Max Verstappen made errors like that in his early career – he will be the real deal.”