Vasseur: 'Leclerc can perform exceptionally, Sainz more constant'

F1 News

Vasseur Leclerc can perform exceptionally, Sainz more constant
17 July 2023 at 13:18
Last update 17 July 2023 at 15:47
  • GPblog.com

Ferrari is so far not having the season they had hoped for in Italy. The Scuderia has scored just two podiums in 2023. The SF-23 is proving to be a tricky car, and both Ferrari drivers are handling that differently. Team boss Frederic Vasseur compares his two drivers.

Leclerc capable of exceptional performance

Charles Leclerc is capable of exceptional things, according to the Ferrari team boss. One example is the pole position the Monegasque captured in Azerbaijan this year. Here, Leclerc beat both Red Bulls in qualifying and was eight tenths faster than his teammate. "Sometimes he does things you don't know where he gets them from. Charles is a driver who is always thinking about winning. Our car is behind Red Bull, but he is still trying to win," Vasseur told Motorsport.com.

Yet things do not always end well for the Monegasque. Last year, for instance, Leclerc made a number of crucial mistakes and this year those mistakes have not gone away either. "In certain situations, we have seen him push too much, 'overdriving'. He tries to compensate for shortcomings with strategy, with being aggressive and with the risk of making mistakes. My job is to guide him in the right direction."

Sainz is more consistent

While Leclerc still continues to make mistakes, teammate Carlos Sainz is actually performing much more consistently. "Carlos is very consistent. He can control his speed and does it a bit better than Charles. He isn't 'overdriving'. He doesn't have the big peaks of Charles, when he takes pole positions, for example, but he then is very close. In Miami, he was on pole until the last corner. He limits the big mistakes and is always there."