David Coulthard compares Max Verstappen to Charles Leclerc

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard does not think Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are different from each other, but admits that the Dutchman is currently more mature than his Monaco teammate.

The first and second numbers in the order know each other very well. In the various junior classes, each was a huge competitor to the other. Meanwhile, the masters have grown up, and thus the battles are less intense than they were about ten years ago. However, Leclerc and Verstappen continued to compete against each other for titles and Coulthard sees it, he says in Channel 4Some improvements to Monegask.

brilliant driver

Leclerc has started strong this season and after the Australian Grand Prix the Ferrari driver had a 37-point lead. But a series of mistakes by Ferrari but also on its own ensured that the lead disappeared like snow in the sun and now the deficit is eighty points for the man from Monaco. During the French Grand Prix, Leclerc himself lost control of the wheel and as a result stopped his car in tire piles, after which Monegask was very self-critical. “I wasn’t surprised, because that’s how it has always been in Formula 1. Just look at Azerbaijan [2019] Then the car smashed into the wall and said “I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid.” He’s not stupid, said Scotsman Leclerc.

learning curve

He compares Coulthard to Verstappen, who wasn’t always flawless in 2018. In that time, the Dutchman made several turns here and there and made a few mistakes, but he learned from it. “If he [Leclerc] Once these small mistakes are ironed out – and let’s remind ourselves that Max Verstappen made similar mistakes early in his career – it will be the ‘real deal,'” the Scot predicts. In addition, the intense pressure to drive in Ferrari’s favor is not to be underestimated: “It remains He matures in front of the public, under the greatest pressure in Formula 1, who represents Ferrari. It’s more than just a racing company, it’s a country, it’s a global tifosi.”