With his victory in the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix two months ago, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc still seemed to be able to challenge Max Verstappen in the fight for the 2022 Formula 1 drovers title.
The points at that moment were 38 between the Monegasque and the Red Bull driver, and for the most optimistic of fans there was still room for a comeback in the second part of the 2022 Formula 1 season.
The retirement in the French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard circuit probably shattered the dreams of the world championships, which then definitively crumbled in Hungary and Belgium. It is clear that Charles Leclerc has very few faults for this season: the Monegasque has always given his best and no Ferrari fan will blame him for having pushed too hard in the search for performance, as was the case in France or at Imola.
The causes of his disadvantage in the Drivers standings as compared to Max Verstappen – 116 points – cannot be traced back to a spin, but to a series of reliability issues and poor strategy decisions from the Maranello pit wall, as well as a lack of development of the F1-75 car compared to that of Red Bull.
Jean Todt does not want to say what Charles Leclerc is missing to become world champion. But, between the lines, he seems to admit that the problem is the car:
“Charles is already a great champion. He is still missing something, I hope he has it soon. If it is the car? Something is missing… ”, these are Jean Todt’s words at the Trento Sports Festival. A car that, however, in the first part of the season proved to be very fast in most races. And that’s where, according to the Frenchman, Ferrari lost the World Championship: “The Scuderia at one point had the best car of the championship. Then they lost certain opportunities, I am thinking, for example, of strategy, of a Safety Car that entered at the wrong time, of reliability problems. It was a sum of several episodes, which ultimately came at a cost. There is a need to reflect on this, to prevent them from happening again. Never leave anything for granted. Only in this way will there be all the ingredients to be champions. To win you need excellence at all levels. We start with the details, from who answers the phone in the company. If a company does not answer the phone after ten rings, that is not a good company ” – Jean Todt concluded.
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