Carlos Sainz has been getting most of the spotlight at Ferrari recently as he continues to deliver performances of the highest level. In contrast, Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc seems to be losing a significant amount of ground because of his underwhelming performances. Since the Monegasque has been struggling this season, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has explained on the Formula1.de YouTube channel how talent is “not enough” for the 25-year-old to succeed in the sport.
While Leclerc has had a massive dip in performances this season, there are also reports of there being tensions at Ferrari. This is because since Sainz has had a massive uplift in performances, reports have suggested that he is now the number one driver in the team. However, the 29-year-old has completely dismissed such speculations in a recent interview.
P4 in today’s race 🇯🇵 Not much we could have done better, we maximised our potential which is what we need to do in weekends where the pace is a bit less good.
A big congrats to Red Bull for the Constructor’s Championship ! pic.twitter.com/opPJWBC2Ss— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) September 24, 2023
The Spaniard told DAZN Espana in an interview, “It’s pretty clear on our contracts. And on our driving that the number 1 priority is Ferrari. You put Ferrari first. Everything else comes after“. Even though Sainz has refused such reports, Schumacher yet believes that the former McLaren driver is now the number one driver at Ferrari.
Schumacher believes Sainz is now in a better position than Leclerc
While speaking in a recent interview on the Formula1.de YouTube channel, Ralf Schumacher explained why Charles Leclerc is “at a crossroads“. The former German driver said (as quoted by motorsport-total.com), “It’s no use having the eternal talent, that he is super fast, but doesn’t get it right in the end“.
The 48-year-old believes that Leclerc has made various mistakes over the course of this season that has now resulted in Carlos Sainz pipping him as the number one driver at Ferrari. “Charles wants to make the difference with all his might and then runs over his car and also makes mistakes. Sainz is more level-headed,” Schumacher explained further.
While Schumacher has raised concerns about Leclerc making mistakes, the Monegasque himself has admitted to the same. The 25-year-old has admitted that he has struggled this season and that he is still understanding how best to drive the SF-23.
Charles Leclerc blames himself for his struggles in 2023
In his most recent interview with the-race.com, Charles Leclerc made it clear that he himself is to blame for his struggles in 2023 and that he does not want to give any excuses. In his interview, the former Sauber driver explained how the SF-23 requires understeer, an area that is his weakness.
“I had to do some work to try and fit my driving a bit better to an understeery car which is not my biggest strength, and I know it,” explained Leclerc. The 25-year-old then added that he could not set up the car as per his liking because the way the SF-23 is designed, it requires understeer.
Since he is not comfortable with the current set-up of the car, Leclerc stated that he has been going through a lot of data to understand the best way he can get the most out of it. The 25-year-old also stated that he has been going through several of his previous videos to understand where he has been making mistakes that have cost him this season.
