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F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes betting on Ferrari and Charles Leclerc is pointless as they have started making errors and have reliability issues. The former F1 chief feels Red Bull and Max Verstappen have had an easy run so far, due to the Maranello team’s setbacks.
Speaking to Swiss newspaper Blick, Ecclestone said:
“I hoped with many people that Ferrari would make it again after more than 14 years. Unfortunately, I have to say that anyone who continues to put their money on Ferrari or Leclerc will get nothing! “
The 91 year old believes that Ferrari’s old style of making errors and reliability concerns makes them a bad bet. Ecclestone feels their drivers are not confident either, which makes the job easier for Verstappen and Red Bull.
Elaborating on the reasons behind Leclerc and his team being a bad bet, the Briton said:
“Errors are creeping in again at Ferrari, the reliability is often reminiscent of the old days and the drivers themselves are not always confident on the road. So Max has an easy time in the Red Bull with six wins already.”
Ferrari believes reliability will play key in determining the championship
Maranello's senior performance engineer Jock Clear believes reliability will play a role in deciding the championship. The British engineer feels Leclerc has been driving well this season, and the scarlet team will have to keep pressuring Verstappen and Red Bull.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, the Briton said:
“We’ve seen, not wishing bad luck on Max or not wishing to sort of win it by virtue of DNFs and that sort of thing, but reliability will play a part in this championship later on in the year as well, for everyone. So you know, there’s more dice to roll.”
Looking at the races ahead and what can be expected, Clear said:
“What we need to do is make sure that we go to every race and we do the best job we can in terms of performance. We make sure we get on the front row and put it on pole and keep the pressure on Max and keep driving as Charles has and as we’ve seen Charles drive all season very, very well.”
There are 49 points between Verstappen and Leclerc in the driver’s championship. Red Bull leads Ferrari by 76 points in the constructor’s championship. With four races to go before the summer break, it will take more consistency.
