“I am stupid,” screamed Charles Leclerc when in his early Ferrari years he failed to convert his pole on the streets of Azerbaijan. To add to that, last year post the crash at French Grand Prix, he said he doesn’t deserve to win. This has been the trajectory of the honesty Leclerc wears on his sleeve. While this veracity was something he took pride in even once snubbing Michael Schumacher, the habit may need to change.

While the Red Barron Michael Schumacher was always of the opinion that nobody should see the chink in his armor, Leclerc in the past had stated he didn’t want to change his truth bomb route. But months after taking pride in his honesty, the public self-sabotage may need to stop as Leclerc is nudged by his TP, Frederic Vasseur.

As quoted by Formula Passion, he said, “Am I too self-critical? Fred tells me this often and I will try to work on it, as I feel it has a negative effect on my image. Fred is right to insist on this point, but I’m not sure I can change completely. I’ll try to be honest with myself, but maybe I’ll try to do it a little less in public.”

He then went on to state what his relationship with Vasseur is like. He said, “He’s still tough like he was when I was a boy. But I really like this, it’s good that it is. As I often say, when you get to Formula 1 people don’t tell you anything. Fred might tell me, ‘Obviously you made a mistake.’ There’s always been this kind of transparency with him and that’s what I particularly appreciate about him.” 

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But what about the still very public mistakes that the Ferrari driver makes?

Charles Leclerc claims mistakes are a part of the business

Leclerc crashed in Australia. He crashed in Baku that too twice and then he crashed in Miami. There have been too many mistakes for one to ignore. However, Charles stated that the risks are calculated and mistakes are a part of the scheme of things.

He said, “Risk is part of my job. I’m a rider, I have to go to the limit. Unfortunately, I’m very honest with myself and I’m not afraid to talk about my mistakes. This probably hurts me a little, because when I look back on my mistakes, they’re not that bad. I’ve done them and I’m not making excuses, don’t get me wrong—For me trying is important, because in qualifying you have to give everything.”

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Do you think Leclerc can become a champion with Ferrari?