Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes Charles Leclerc has the necessary maturity to handle the intense pressure of partnering seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, insisting the Monegasque driver will understand he cannot beat the Briton every single weekend.
The dynamic at Ferrari has come under scrutiny following Hamilton’s maiden victory with the team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. While the 41-year-old celebrated the major milestone, Leclerc endured a frustrating weekend after crashing in qualifying and retiring from the race due to a power steering issue.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Coulthard weighed in on the ongoing discussions surrounding Leclerc and how he will deal with the new pressure from his team-mate.
“I think that he’s mature enough in his career now to understand that racing against a seven-time world champion, you’re certainly not going to beat him all the time,” the former Red Bull driver said.
“He probably found it a bit easier than he expected when Hamilton joined from Mercedes, he basically was still the pacesetter within the team. But what we’ve seen this year, think back to Shanghai where they were pass, repass, battling. We were questioning, ‘Are Ferrari doing the right thing, letting their guys race?’ But actually, it was brilliant entertainment for us, and it was the early sign that Lewis Hamilton was back to his brilliant best.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
“So he will be disappointed in his own performance in the last couple of grands prix. He’s got a multi-million-pound, secure contract going forward.
“Even if the worst comes to the worst for him in that Lewis continually delivers, gets the wins, wins the championship, Lewis can surely only be around for another two years, three years. I can’t imagine he’s going to be around for the next five years, which I imagine is the length of the contract that Charles has.”
Hamilton currently sits second in the drivers’ championship, 41 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc is fourth, 40 points behind his team-mate.
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