Damon Hill was critical of Charles Leclerc’s lack of confidence in himself and says that separates him from Champions like Michael Schumacher or Max Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc is touted amongst Ferrari’s faithful as their next World Champion. The Tifosi believe he will end their 15-year-long wait to claim the Drivers title for the first time since 2007.
But 2022 will not be Leclerc’s year to celebrate. He trails Max Verstappen by 116 points ahead of the 2022 Singapore GP. If Charles finishes the race below 7th and Max wins the night race, he will be crowned a double World Champion.
Charles however will be reflecting upon how his season went. He enjoyed a 46-point lead over Verstappen after claiming 2 wins in the opening 3 races.
Even Former Ferrari Team Principal Jean Todt reflected on this. He said, “Ferrari at one point had the best car in the championship. Then they missed certain opportunities. I’m thinking of strategy, a Safety Car that came in at the wrong time, reliability problems. ”
Jean Todt on Charles Leclerc:
“Charles is already a great champion. He is still missing something – I hope he has it soon.” #F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/0K7qKs3e3c
— The Racing Line 🏁 (@TRLMotorsport) September 27, 2022
The Monegasque can blame the poor strategy by Ferrari and reliability issues as the two stole a major chunk of points. But he will have to be blamed for errors like when he crashed out from the lead in France.
Todt said, “Charles is already a great champion. He still lacks something, I hope he has it soon.” Todt was famous for having won 5 consecutive titles with Ferrari from 2000-2004 alongside Michael Schumacher.
Jean’s son Nicholas Todt manages Leclerc since his karting days. And the two are quite close off-track as well. Hence Jean’s comment about Leclerc was concerning to many. And now another former World Champion has pointed out Leclerc’s lack of self-confidence.
Also Read: Max Verstappen can win 2nd F1 World Championship as soon as 2022 Singapore GP
Damon Hill compares Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc started off his 2022 campaign excellently. Ferrari had the fastest car on the grid and had secured 2 wins in the opening 3 races.
But since then the season went downhill for Ferrari and Leclerc. Max Verstappen is now looking certain to clinch his 2nd title after winning 11 of the 17 races so far. And 1996 World Champion Damon Hill believes Charles
In a podcast, Damon pointed out that Leclerc lacked confidence in himself. But he was surprised as Leclerc was a very sharp driver when he first joined F1.
It’s 10th April 2022.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari have just won the Australian Grand Prix by 20+ seconds.
Charles leads Max Verstappen in the WDC by 46 points.
Max “doesn’t even want to think about the championship” as “it’s more important to finish races.”
Take me back. pic.twitter.com/EX7g5TRIws
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) September 13, 2022
Hill recollects, “I remember an interview when he was 17 years old. He knew how to handle himself, he had so much confidence. It was utterly unbelievable for a 17-year-old.” But Hill pointed out, “He is a very charming intelligent guy, but he is very anxious.”
He recalled Leclerc’s radio messages after bad performances and said, “HE is very public in his criticism of himself, right? I remember the first time he said, ‘I am sorry guys, that’s all my fault.’ I can’t imagine Michael Schumacher saying that”
Hill said Verstappen rarely criticises himself on the team radio after a poor race. This is something that good drivers do not do as they are confident in themselves.
