Tom Coronel and Christijan Albers are anything but impressed by Charles Leclerc’s performance. In their eyes, the Monegask has lost its way and is having a hard time mentally. It is therefore rather the question of whether Ferrari wants to continue with him, according to the analysts, who would like to see Lewis Hamilton leave for the Italian racing team. Something has to happen at Ferrari, and dropping a bomb wouldn’t be a bad idea, Coronel thinks.
At Viaplay, Albers is hard on Leclerc and he sees that the Monegask is not doing well mentally, something that is evident from his uncertainty about the first stint on the hard tyre. “You have less feeling on the hard tyre, because it’s less soft, but that doesn’t mean the lap time isn’t there, because it went through the field. But he felt maybe not enough, which is why he was on the on-board radio and said he didn’t have enough grip. That is actually more mental than that it is really the lap time.’
Coronel responds to that, because he also sees that things are not right in the head of the Ferrari driver. “The soft band is coming. You started on hard, so you know you still have to go to soft or medium. Then you have to keep it up, because it’s about the average. The panic factor that hits him… you can see it too, he has lost his way. You can see him looking, he’s just lost his mind’, is the hard conclusion.
Leclerc out of Ferrari?
When the question is asked whether Leclerc should think about leaving Ferrari after all, the story is reversed by Coronel. ‘I think it’s the other way around. They have to make a choice at Ferrari that shakes things up. You just have to hit it hard. A rumor is really cool, but one driver just has to get out, and for all I care you have to pay that Lewis twenty million too much. Then at least something happens in that team that gives a bit of a certain positivity. You need someone like that, because the package they have is wrong. Then start with this, just drop a bomb. You need a new swing.’
Albers saw how Ferrari was mistakenly thought to have brought in a new world champion when Leclerc defeated Ferrari’s then leader, Sebastian Vettel. They thought they had the new winner in Leclerc. Leclerc is a monster in qualifying, but in the race it’s always fifty-fifty, you never know where you stand and it’s never consistent. If you then look at a Fernando Alonso, Max, Lewis Hamilton, all lap times are just within a few tenths of each other. If you then look at a Carlos Sainz or a Pérez or, for example, a Leclerc, then that is like a casino.’
