Ex-Ferrari boss Jean Todt believes that Charles Leclerc is already a world Champion material although he insists the Monegasque still “lacks something.”
Charles Leclerc is 116 points adrift of Max Verstappen in the 2022 drivers’ Championship. The Championship seems all but gone for Leclerc now as Verstappen has a possibility of wrapping the Championship at Singapore itself.
Nevertheless, Leclerc has showcased commendable driving skills as a driver. If it wasn’t for some strategy mistakes accompanied by reliability issues, Ferrari and Leclerc might still have been fighting the championship.
Ferrari ex-boss Jean Todt also has an outlook on Charles Leclerc and his hope of winning the championship in the future. Todt was in charge of the Ferrari team who went on to dominate from 1999-2004.
“Charles is already a great champion,”
said, Todt.
“He still lacks something, I hope he has it soon.”
The interviewer asked if Leclerc lacks a competitive car, Todt simply replied:
“He lacks something…”
Todt was further asked to compare Max Verstappen with Michael Schumacher at the dominant Ferrari:
“I know Michael very well, but not Max,” said Todt. “Max, like Michael, is very determined, very aggressive.
“Michael off the track is a wonderful person. About Max, I don’t know, I can’t say. Now I see him all focused on racing, rightly so.
“Then of course, they both had great cars. Because to win, every driver, no matter how exceptional, needs a competitive car.”
Ferrari needs to avoid unforced errors – Todt
Todt also expressed his views on the Ferrari campaign this season that went downhill after a strong start:
“Ferrari at one point had the best car in the championship,”
he said.
“Then they missed certain opportunities – I’m thinking of strategy, a Safety Car that came in at the wrong time, reliability problems. Different episodes had a cost.
“We have to reflect on this to avoid them happening again. Never leave anything to chance. And if you manage to leave nothing taken for granted, all the ingredients are there to be champions.”
Max Verstappen has won 5 consecutive races as we head to Singapore for round 17 of the 2022 F1 season. He can wrap up the championship in Singapore only.
Can Ferrari go back to its winning days as it used to under Jean Todt? We will know it next season.
For more updates, follow us on Twitter.
