With Charles Leclerc finding himself in a similar position to Max Verstappen during Mercedes’ era of dominance, the Monegasque has been given advice by an unlikely adversary.
Leclerc’s skill behind the wheel is clear, as the Monegasque has shown that, when given a car capable of victories, he can fight for the title.
During the 2022 season, Leclerc fought hard against Verstappen, giving the Dutchman a run for his money until a series of poor strategy calls ended his title campaign.
Frustration is thought to be building with Leclerc, as the young driver has to watch his rivals secure pole positions and victories with ease.
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Verstappen has previously found himself in a similar position, having suffered trouble during the first six races of 2018, having to watch Lewis Hamilton charge to the title.
While Leclerc has enjoyed 25 podiums and 19 pole positions in his career, a respectable tally, in the first five races of the 2023 season he has been far off the pace.
“I want to win, and I want it to be in red,” Leclerc recently told The Athletic.
“This is clear, and I am not happy about the performance we’ve been giving in the last few years, it’s not been so consistent.
“There was quite a lot of expectation for this year, and at the end, we are seeing that we’re not as competitive as what we want.”
With Leclerc hoping for a comeback when Ferrari addresses its performance failings, the Monegasque has received a word of support and advice from his old rival Verstappen.
Speaking to reporters, Verstappen explained that Leclerc just has to remain patient for the right moment when he will be able to enjoy similar title success to the Dutchman.
“You have to be patient, I think I learned a lot of patience over the years,” Verstappen told reporters.
“I always believed in the project because of how I saw people working and how motivated they were to really get back on top.
“You cannot force it, and say: ‘We were the third best team at some point and it’s like we need to win now’
“It is a process, you get a few people, maybe different positions, get a good group together and at some point, it just clicked from one year to the next, and you really make a jump forward.
“After that, you say: ‘Yeah, I saw it coming blah blah blah, [but] you don’t know. I did trust the process we were in because I did feel that we were heading into something.
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“But we had a few years with engine deals falling part, and it was just a bit of a struggle, sometimes we had quite a decent package, but then you lack a bit of top speed and that made it very hard to really show the true potential.
“When Honda came along, it was a bit of a work in progress, but then after a year, we were very competitive.
“It is not easy [to be patient] but sometimes you just have to be.”