Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has been getting a lot of heat after the Monegasque has not been able to deliver a good performance in Ferrari 2023 challenger. After three races of the 2023 campaign, Leclerc has only been able to bag 6 points so far.
Leclerc has even described his own start of the 2023 season as the worst. Speaking about his chances of fighting for the title in the 2023 season, the 25-year-old said that he wants to focus on winning races and gaining some more points and he is not thinking about winning the title yet.
In the opening race of the season in Bahrain, Leclerc suffered a power unit failure and had to retire. This PU failure further led to a grid penalty for the Ferrari star and he could only manage a P7 finish in Jeddah. At the third race of the season in Australia, Leclerc again spun out and retired.
Austria 2020 is definitely one of Charles Leclerc’s most underrated drives.
– Started P7 in the SF1000
– Was P6 with 20 laps to go
– Pulled off excellent overtakes on Norris and Perez
– Finished P2 with the Hamilton-Albon incidentAnother example of Charles’ talent 💪 pic.twitter.com/I7L7fLrrGf
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) April 11, 2023
Felipe Massa thinks criticism of Charles Leclerc is unjustified
Being a former F1 driver, Felipe Massa knows the struggles of a driver and therefore he believes that the press is not handling Leclerc’s case well enough. The Brazillian who drove Ferrari from 2006 to 2013 said, “If a driver is perfect, but his car is not fast and reliable, then you have little use for it.”
Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta, Massa said Leclerc is not the problem and the press is wrong to criticize him. He explained that making a mistake in the first lap of the race is quite common especially if the car is not competitive enough and you start at the back.
Leclerc request fans to stop gathering at his residence
Following the 3-week break between the races after the Australian GP, the F1 drivers are taking the time to take a step back, relax, prepare further, and be with their families. Leclerc, who lives in Monaco too chose the option but somehow his address got public and he got annoyed by his fans.
On Sunday, the Ferrari star released a statement requesting his fans to not gather at his house. In the Instagram post, he said that for the past few months, he has been noticing fans gathering beneath his apartment, ringing bells, and asking for pictures and autographs.
He noted that while he is always happy to engage with fans and be there, ‘please respect my privacy and refrain from coming to my house.’
