Ex-F1 Champion breaks down Charles Leclerc’s “muddled” situation at Ferrari amidst performance slump

Damon Hill reckons Charles Leclerc is in a mysterious situation at Ferrari.

Ex-F1 Champion breaks down Charles Leclerc’s “muddled” situation at Ferrari amidst performance slump

Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

The last four races of the F1 2024 season was not a good run for Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Since his last win at the Monaco GP, Leclerc barely scored any points for the team. Former F1 champion Damon Hill expressed his opinion on the challenges faced by the Monàgasque.

Damon Hill stated that Charles Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz seems to handle challenging situations better and make the most of his opportunities compared to Charles Leclerc. Ferrari decided to extend Leclerc’s contract through 2025 and replace Sainz after the announcement of Lewis Hamilton joining the Red’s. Hill found this situation puzzling because, in his view, Sainz had shown greater resilience and effectiveness in tough scenarios, which made him appear more reliable.

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It's a mystery to me because Carlos seems to come out of the situations and making more of what he has than Charles does, and yet Charles is the guy staying.
Damon Hill told F1NationsPodcast

Damon Hill considered Leclerc might need some strong support from Ferrari to overcome the challenges he is going through. This might be because Ferrari is not making the right decisions regarding pit stops and tire management during the race. Hill pointed out that the team’s creation of a muddled environment around the Monegasque driver ultimately leads to missed opportunities and frustration for Leclerc.

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I don't understand what is going on at Ferrari that means he is not getting good support from the team and from the strategy and stuff, it seems a little bit muddled.
Damon Hill stated
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Damon Hill claims Ferrari has not setup a confident pit wall for Charles Leclerc

Damon Hill expressed confusion about why there is a difference between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at Ferrari. He was curious about why Sainz can confidently take charge of situations, clearly expressing his decisions and intentions, while Leclerc seemed to face challenges in doing so. Hill tried to understand the underlying reasons behind this difference in their ability to assert themselves within the team dynamics. The 63-year-old stated that such difference in assertion could impact on important decisions and how well team performs at the races.

I don't quite understand why that should be, whereas Carlos seems to be able to take command of the situation and just say, ‘Well, I'm doing this, this is what I want to do
Damon Hill expressed

Damon Hill suggested that responsibilities shouldn’t only fall on Charles Leclerc, but also on Ferrari pitwall. Hill believed that for Ferrari to maximize Leclerc’s potential, they needed a strategic team capable of making better decisions and providing clear guidance from the pit wall. The British driver made sure Ferrari helps the monàgasque with their strategy team to perform better in races.

So I'm not saying it's the driver's fault, but I'm saying that if Charles is what you've got, you need to be able to have a better, confident pit wall strategy team there for him.
Damon Hill added

Certainly, Damon Hill believed that Charles Leclerc’s skills and driving were not the primary issues he faced; instead, the real challenge lay with Ferrari’s pit wall. Hill hoped that Ferrari would address this issue for the 26-year-old so that Leclerc could deliver better results and achieve success.

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