Formula 1: Ferrari has backed their Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc and the team’s sporting director, Laurent Mekies has urged him not to change his driving style after his errors on the track in the F1 2022 season. Follow Formula 1 & Belgian GP LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Ferrari’s sporting director spoke with Autosprint and said, “I wouldn’t say Leclerc is a little more emotional than [team-mate Carlos] Sainz. Both of these guys have had ups and downs – the latter very painful – this season and in both cases, when they go back to the garage and analyse what happened also through the data, they are able to reset everything and go into learning mode.”
“Also this year Leclerc has shown that he has such exceptional speed that it is an aspect that should not be touched. Charles doesn’t need us to understand, as a great driver, how far he has to push in terms of proximity to the limit. He is a master at this and mistakes can happen just as we do too. Let’s not look at the single mistake but at the percentage of sensational performances by Charles, who was indeed exceptional on many more occasions than when he made a mistake. And we don’t want anything to change,” Mekies added.
“It is necessary to distinguish what you listen to on the radio during the race with the heat of the moment, from the rest. They are two different things. When they get out of the car and analyse everything, after an hour they no longer have negative emotions and are even more motivated,” Mekies concluded.
The Monegasque has been the nearest opponent to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, however, all things considered, Leclerc has fallen 80 points behind the reigning champ. The gap between both teams is significantly more, with Red Bull at present enjoying a 97-point lead over the Prancing Horse.
After 13/22 rounds 👀#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Jqvyb3OBOb
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
Generally, the issues confronting Ferrari have been beyond Leclerc’s control. He has no power to make any meaningful difference with the power unit reliability issues that have tormented them, nor has he had the option to make a difference with some poor strategy decisions the team has taken up until this point.
Meanwhile, he is quick to concede he has nobody to blame for his mistakes except for himself, which have proven to be costly for the young driver. The first came at Imola this year, where he spun at the Variante Alta chicane while pushing too hard in order to catch Red Bull’s, Sergio Perez.
In that event, he kept away from harm and even scored points. However, at the French Grand Prix, he wasn’t really fortunate as he lost control of the rear of his F1-75 challenger and crashed out, permitting Verstappen to move 25 points ahead in the drivers’ standings. Moreover, Leclerc took full responsibility for the crash and said only he is to blame if he can’t challenge Verstappen for the title.
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