Former Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill has compared current Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc to his legendary predecessor at the team Michael Schumacher, highlighting the main differences between the two.
The Monegasque driver joined the Maranello team in 2019 and is now in his fourth year with the Scuderia. Until now he has won just five races, but has proven to be a world class driver, despite most of the time not having a car fast enough to challenge the championship contenders, as Charles is still looking for an elusive first world championship victory.
Things seemed to improve this season, as the F1-75 car impressed during the pre-season testing sessions and started the championship with two race victories from the first three races. Charles secured top spot in Bahrain and Australia, while also finishing second in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which provided hop for a close championship duel against Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
Unfortunately it all went downhill from there: due to several power unit issues and some wrong strategical calls made by the Maranello team, the Monegasque driver lost valuable points and was out of the world title battle even before the summer break, as reigning champion Max Verstappen is set to secure his second Formula 1 championship.
Scuderia Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher has a joint-record seven world titles to his name won between 1994 and 2004, five of which were won driving for the Maranello team. Damon Hill, who won the Formula 1 world championship back in 1996, has pinpointed the main difference between the drivers who have both had the opportunity of racing for the most important team in Formula 1.
During the years, Charles Leclerc made a few mistakes while pushing too hard as he attempted to get the most out of cars that were no where near close to the top of the grid in terms of pace and performance and he previously apologised to his team for such errors, which making mistakes, which the British former world champion feels Michael Schumacher would never have done when they raced against each other almost three decades ago.
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In a recent discussion for the F1 Nation podcast, Damon Hill pointed out that “Charles is a very charming, intelligent kid, but he’s anxious. He’s got an anxiety there. I thought the first time I heard him say, ‘I’m really sorry guys, that was all my fault’, I just thought ‘can’t imagine Michael Schumacher saying that ever’.
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc currently sits second in the drivers’ standings, 116 points behind Max Verstappen, who could even win the Drivers’ Title this weekend should he outscore the Ferrari driver by 22 points or more.
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