Former team principal Otmar Szafnauer on Ferrari: “Leave Charles Leclerc alone”

Charles Leclerc finished fourth in the latest showdown between the Formula 1 stars at the Hungaroring. The Ferrari driver had started the eleventh Grand Prix of the season from the front row, so he was understandably disappointed with the result. He had already been hard on himself during qualifying on Saturday.

He currently sits fourth in the World Championship standings, despite having already secured a Grand Prix victory, just like his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. However, unlike the seven-time world champion, he has made it onto the Grand Prix podium one fewer time; the Briton has also scored 31 more points in the races so far this season and, currently in second place in the World Championship, is the closest challenger to leader Kimi Antonelli.

The internal team comparison shows that Leclerc is failing to realise his Ferrari’s full potential, and Grand Prix observers are wondering what is going on with the fast driver from Monte Carlo. On the ‘High Performance Podcast’, the question arose as to whether team principal Fred Vasseur should respond to this and have a sit-down with Leclerc.

And former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer had a clear answer: “No, leave him alone. I wouldn’t seek out a conversation, but I would support him. I get the feeling that Lewis was a bit further ahead at the start of the season than he is now. I think Charles has stepped it up over the last two race weekends.”

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