Charles Leclerc Paul Ricard retirement ‘still a mystery’ for former F1 driver
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Charles Leclerc crashing in France
Charles Leclerc went into the barriers during the French Grand Prix and former F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck believes the Monegasque’s crash is still a big mystery for him.
Charles Leclerc was cruising during the Grand Prix and was comfortably ahead of the chasing pack and it was only because of his spin that Leclerc had to lose out on valuable points.
The 24-year-old was able to fend off the challenge of Max Verstappen during the early phase of the race, however, on lap 16 the Dutchman dived into the pits which triggered Leclerc to push hard to prevent an undercut.
Moreover, on lap 18 while going through the Le Bausset corner Charles Leclerc went in with too much speed and lost control over the rear of his F1-75. He crashed into barriers and screamed hard to get the frustration out of his system. The frustration was understandable as he lost out on a potential Grand Prix win.
After the race, the Monegasque was quick to take the blame for the crash, however, since that incident, rumors have been swirling about the team trying to cover up a throttle problem.
Hans-Joachim Stuck believes Leclerc was asked by Ferrari to own up to the mistake in order to hide a potential problem with the car. While talking about it, Stuck said, “For me, something is still a mystery – Charles Leclerc’s departure from Le Castellet.”
“If you look at the accident a hundred times, the oversteering didn’t come from him. I can imagine he was instructed by the team to claim he made a mistake even though there was a problem with the car. I wouldn’t rule that out. There is enormous pressure there.
“Ferrari has the potential but they haven’t implemented it yet.”
Also Read: Guenther Steiner: “The aim is to compete for podiums at the end of these regulations”
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari cannot be taken for granted during the second leg of 2022
Ferrari is currently behind Red Bull in both the Championships with a huge points gap but stuck still believes that the Maranello-based team has got everything in order to make a strong comeback.
“They have to deliver. [They] have high potential.”
“But if they want to do that, the mistakes they made this year must not happen. It’s a shame how many points they have already thrown away this season.”
“We know there’s always ‘grande casino’ at Ferrari. But this year there was already a lot of ‘casino’. They have been undervalued through their own faults. If they hadn’t made these mistakes, Leclerc would be much further ahead.”
“As long as the title is mathematically possible, Ferrari cannot be written off. But the basis for that is they correct their mistakes. Technically, they are at a very high level. But one thing must not be forgotten – Verstappen and Red Bull are currently on the same pedestal. It just works for them.”
The former F1 driver has backed the Italian team to go all out in its pursuit of the 2022 Championship and considering how up and down the season has been for Ferrari, could they really become a serious threat for the mighty Red Bull team?
Max Verstappen is in supreme form this season and after 13 rounds, has already managed to win 8 Grand Prix whereas Charles Leclerc on the other hand has got only 3 race wins to his name.
Moreover, the 2022 F1 season has got only 9 races left and it is going to be immensely important for the Italian team to hit the ground running straightaway in order to catch the high-flying Red Bull team.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)