“Charles Leclerc Risking a Lot More”: RB Taskmaster Hails Max Verstappen Yet Again as He Rubs Salt in Ferrari Driver’s Age-Old Wounds

The Austrian GP is the home race for Red Bull. This is where they should be the most confident, and they were. But they have had a mixed bag of results, with Max Verstappen in P1 and Sergio Perez in P15. As if that wasn’t enough, rivals, Ferrari showed up in style with their drivers completing the top 3. Charles Leclerc qualified P2 and Carlos Sainz qualified P3. Even Helmut Marko highlighted Leclerc’s stellar qualifying but took a dig at Ferrari.

At the Canadian GP, Ferrari finished in P4 and P5 while Max Verstappen secured an easy victory. But as per the time charts, Ferrari’s SF-23 was the fastest car on the track. Commenting on the same, Marko had said that he was glad that Leclerc qualified so far back. That helped reduce the competition at the front. And according to him, the Red Bull ring also suits the Ferrari.

His statement came true as everybody got to witness Charles Leclerc in all his glory. Though he could not beat Verstappen’s time, he put on an impressive show. In a session that was plagued by mass deletion of lap times for all drivers, Leclerc was one of two drivers who never exceeded track limits. And for that, Marko was all praise for the Monegasque. However, he was not convinced by the fact that Ferrari can facilitate Leclerc for a win. And still said that it is Verstappen who is best prepared for victory.

Marko said, in a post-qualifying interview, “Max is doing his laps for sure and that should be enough. Meanwhile, we see Charles Leclerc risking a lot more. You really saw how he had to work in those last two corners, but what worked for him at the time. I don’t know if it means Ferrari can keep the upward trend, but I wanted to mention it anyway.”

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Marko is a shrewd man and his mind games are constantly going on. Leclerc is aware of that and the fact that Ferrari still has a lot of work to do.

Charles Leclerc Highlights Ferrari’s Struggles With Consistency

It has been a very up-and-down season for Ferrari. But it is nothing new. The 2022 season was a bust as well. And it is Charles Leclerc who has been dealing with this volatility since 2019. Although the Canadian GP pace was a good sign for them, staying consistent with that has been a roadblock for the Maranello team.

In the post-Qualifying interview, Leclerc said, “Consistency is where we need to focus so we will have to see on Sunday if we have the same pace as Montreal. Red Bull right now is quicker on race pace so it will be difficult but if we can put them in difficulty we will do it all.”

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Though they might not be the quickest, Leclerc acknowledged that they were closer to Verstappen than expected. Their true race pace will only be revealed on Sunday. But, fans will get a glimpse of what is to come in the Sprint Shootout and Sprint Race today. And so will Helmut Marko.