Charles Leclerc: Mature enough to cope with pressure from Lewis Hamilton

In Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s first year together at Ferrari, the 28-year-old was clearly ahead. He secured seven podium finishes and ended the season with 86 more World Championship points than the seven-time world champion, who finished just behind the Monegasque driver in fifth place in the World Championship standings.

This year, things are going much better for the former Mercedes driver; most recently, he celebrated two second-place finishes in Canada and Monaco and his first Grand Prix victory in red in Barcelona, whilst Leclerc finished fourth in Montreal and had to endure two painful zero-point finishes in the following two World Championship rounds.

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The pressure weighing on the shoulders of the driver from Monte Carlo is correspondingly great. And the big question is whether he can cope with it. David Coulthard is certain: “I think he’s mature enough to understand that he can’t beat a seven-time world champion all the time.”

The Scot makes this comment on the ‘Up to Speed’ podcast, in which he also speculates: “When Hamilton moved from Mercedes to Ferrari, it was Charles who set the pace. And he probably found it a bit easier than expected to hold his own against Hamilton.”

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The duel between the Ferrari stars during the second race weekend in Shanghai was the first sign that Hamilton had regained his old form, Coulthard goes on to explain. “At the time, we wondered whether Ferrari was doing the right thing by letting the two of them battle it out. In fact, though, it was great entertainment for us spectators, and it was an early sign that Lewis is back in top form.”

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Leclerc will be disappointed with his own performance in the recent head-to-head battles, the 13-time Grand Prix winner emphasised. “But he’s signed a multi-million contract for the next few years. And even if the worst were to happen for him, and his team-mate continued to perform well and secure victories and the title, he can assume that Lewis will only be around for another two or three years at most. I can’t imagine him carrying on for another five years, which, as far as I know, would be the length of Charles’s contract.”