Charles Leclerc looked like his time in F1 had finally come in 2022 when Ferrari built a car that regularly competed for wins at the start of the season. Until it wasn’t. And all of Leclerc’s hopes of winning the title vanished into thin air along with Ferrari’s performance. That performance seems to have continued into the 2023 season, with Ferrari having just one podium to its name so far along with a list of errors that have brought to light the Maranello team’s lack of accountability. Although, Charles has become collateral damage in this situation, getting criticism for his submissive personality.

Leclerc’s personality has been under the radar for a while with him not being able to stake a claim at leading Ferrari. His leadership skills have often been compared to Michael Schumacher. Therefore, several former drivers like Ralf Schumacher have started to doubt whether the Monegasque can win a championship with the Scuderia or not.

Ralf Schumacher criticizes Charles Leclerc’s mentality

Ever since Charles Leclerc joined F1, he has been regarded as a generational talent. Although, when it comes to developing the team into a championship-winning outfit, Leclerc probably lacks the wisdom that often comes with experience. His inexperience & lack of firmness is reflected in team radio calls & how Ferrari messes up his strategies several times.

With driver errors and bad strategy calls over the years, along with the team’s performance, Leclerc’s mentality has come under scrutiny by Ralf Schumacher. In an interview with Sky, as quoted by motorsport-total.com, Schumacher said, “I think that Charles Leclerc’s nerves are a bit on edge in particular. He’s incredibly ambitious; he wants to win races. Max Verstappen is driving away from him.” He and Verstappen were placed on the same level when they entered the sport. But given Max’s championships and his errorless driving style, Schumacher seems to think Leclerc has become more desperate for wins, leading him to make numerous errors.

While discussing Ferrari’s recent form, he claimed, “There’s a lot of frustration.” He explained that the Scuderia rarely takes accountability for its errors, making talented drivers like Leclerc and Carlos Sainz question their future at Ferrari.

Read More: Devoid of Championship Glory, Charles Leclerc Asked to Take Charge of His Fate at Ferrari: “Get What You Want”

He added, “Last year, at the beginning, [Leclerc] was still racing for the World Cup – and now they are happy when they somehow manage to get through and finish in the points.” He seems to think Leclerc is lacking the ingredients of a champion driver. But contrary to what he thinks, Leclerc is striving for more.

Charles Leclerc wasn’t happy with his P4 in Canada

The Canadian GP was a weekend of two halves for Ferrari. It started with insufficient track running time, crashes, flawed strategies, and penalties and ended with Leclerc and Sainz finishing fourth and fifth despite all of it. After starting in P10 and P11, respectively, the team made a good strategy call that stuck until the end of the race and resulted in one of its best performances of the season.

But in a post-race interview, when Leclerc was asked if he was happy with the result, he said it was a good one to build on but wasn’t entirely satisfied. He claimed he would be entirely happy only when Ferarri was back at the front of the grid, fighting for race wins and titles.

What do you think about Charles Leclerc’s personality? Does he have it in him to win a championship at some point in his career?

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