Interviewed by Italian journalist Paolo Ciccarone on rmcmotori for automoto.it, former Formula 1 driver Gianni Morbidelli didn’t hold back some “criticism” of Charles Leclerc, giving his personal impression of the driver after the recent British Grand Prix, where the Monegasque finished a dismal ninth place under the checkered flag.
“I see a team without a rudder and a helmsman to steer it out of trouble,” said Gianni Morbidelli, speaking about Scuderia Ferrari. “It’s not easy because Ferrari is a difficult entity to understand for those on the outside. It’s not as simple as saying take this, move that, do the other. All eyes are on you, and that’s a disadvantage.” – explained the Italian racing driver, who participated in 70 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 March 1990.
Continuing to talk about the drivers, Gianni Morbidelli added, “They are two good guys, fast, among the fastest I would say. Charles Leclerc has that little something extra in qualifying that makes the difference. But for me, beyond their skill, which I don’t contest and actually I must say I like both of them, Charles Leclerc lacks personality, spark. He needs to be a leader, but after five seasons, he’s still there arguing with the engineers, unsure if he should stay out or change tires, complaining on the radio about his teammate if he overtakes him or adopts a different strategy.” – said the former Formula 1 driver, who also raced for Scuderia Ferrari once, in the 1991 Australian Grand Prix, replacing Alain Prost.
Gianni Morbidelli also commented on Charles Leclerc’s recent team radio messages during qualifying for the British Grand Prix: “A leader overcomes these things, doesn’t care about them. Carlos Sainz overtakes you? Who cares, focus on your own race. You’re the one in the car, you should be the one telling the team the track conditions, whether you feel like staying out or need to come in. And then you have to work as a team. These are all things that Schumacher had, Prost had them too, but he clashed with Fiorio. So, I commend Charles Leclerc for his driving and speed, he has great talent, but there’s still a lot to do to reach the top in other aspects.”
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Finally, regarding rumors that suggest Charles Leclerc will be far from Ferrari in the not-so-distant future, Gianni Morbidelli stated: “Where could he go? He can only stay there and try to win with Ferrari.”
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