Charles Leclerc, who hasn’t been at his best in recent times, can take his name out of Max Verstappen’s rival’s list, as per Pedro de la Rosa. This is because the Monegasque driver isn’t driving the Red Bull “supercar” like Verstappen. Instead, he’s driving an inferior Ferrari.
Speaking about this in F1 Nation Podcast, de la Rosa said, “Let’s remind ourselves that Charles is not driving a Red Bull.” The Spaniard then went on to describe the superiority Verstappen has for having the RB-19 under him.
The Red Bull RB19 was insanely quick in a straight line at Baku! 🏎💨
Max Verstappen outpaced Charles Leclerc by a staggering 30km/h down to T1 🤯#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/KGBSsXFMah
— Autosport (@autosport) May 2, 2023
He added that the Dutchman had a “supercar that takes care of the tires.” Despite huge expectations of the Monegasque, Rosa asked back, “Having said that, how many drivers could have done better than him on a Ferrari?”
Going by the current Championship statistics, Leclerc is in a distant P7 with 34 points after the completion of five races. He’s currently 85 points behind the Dutchman and any chance to startle the defending champion lead looks unlikely, because of the SF-23.
Leclerc received appraisal despite dismal Miami performance
After having crashed in both FP3 and Q3 in Miami and finishing the race from the place he started, the Ferrari star driver received much-needed praise from the former F1 star.
Rosa, putting on an appraisal for the 25-year-old, conveyed that there are very few drivers that are as fast as the Monegasque. Having said that Leclerc is not scared of anything, he throws everything at the pushing lap.
We’ve got so much work to do in terms of race pace. We’ll keep pushing as always.
Next stop is in Imola ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u4Q4HP1dpa— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) May 7, 2023
He further shared that he admires the Ferrari star because of his bravery because whenever the 25-year-old makes a mistake, he goes on to push to the same limit. Rosa also hailed him over his teammate Carlos Sainz for having better self-confidence.
How is Leclerc not a match for Verstappen and Red Bull?
Despite having a car to beat in 2022, the Italian team failed to bank on it in 2023. As the teams developed new challengers after the new regulations last year, there were hopes in Tifosi regarding the rise of the Prancing Horse.
After being beaten by the Austrian team with superior strategy and reliability, the Scuderia failed to match the RB-19 yet again. This time, the Austrian challengers are equipped with better traction, eat less tire, have superior straight-line speed, are agile in the corner, and are overall a supreme machine. Hence, there’s no doubt why Charles Leclerc is simply no match for Max Verstappen.
