Charles Leclerc arrived in the Monaco paddock with a beaming smile, not just to enjoy his home atmosphere but also to celebrate his new contract with Ferrari. It is an open-ended partnership, once again put down in black and white, without any public certainties regarding its exact duration or his salary. However, since those happy days, a difficult period of mistakes, crashes, and mechanical failures has unfolded, all while his teammate has been racking up podiums and even a victory. Ever since his retirement at Montmeló, the paddock has been flooded with talk of a “crisis” for the Monégasque. Formula 1 has a notoriously short memory, and fans worldwide can already smell the aroma of another electrifying world championship battle.
Jacques Villeneuve, speaking on the Sky Sports podcast, also weighed in to criticize yje Monegasque driver’s current form: “Ferrari has just renewed his contract, so how will he be motivated now? I don’t think it was a good idea. In Barcelona, we saw the first cracks because Leclerc couldn’t accept being behind Lewis over a weekend.”
Nevertheless, the 1997 world champion believes the final word has not yet been spoken. Charles Leclerc faces a massive challenge ahead, one he must use to grow and prove his true value. “In this sport, you are considered old at 28, but not so much because of age as because of experience, he should be at the peak of his form,” the Canadian added. “You can always learn, now he needs to make some small adjustments and build a team around himself, but perhaps now it is too late because someone else is establishing themselves. With Vettel, he had an easy ride, we will see how he reacts now.”
In conclusion, Jacques Villeneuve’s blunt critique highlights the growing pressure on Charles Leclerc at Maranello, suggesting that the Monégasque must quickly adapt and overcome his recent setbacks to assert his position against a surging Lewis Hamilton.
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