"They were on another level"- Charles Leclerc and Ferrari unable to explain pace deficit to Red Bull after 2022 F1 Belgian GP

Charles Leclerc admitted that Ferrari has been left flummoxed by the pace difference between them and Red Bull during the 2022 F1 Belgian GP weekend.

Red Bull dominated around the power-hungry Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps all weekend. Even a slew of grid penalties was not enough to deny Max Verstappen his ninth win of the season.

The Dutchman started the race in P14 and dominated throughout. When the checkered flag fell, Verstappen was 17.841 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez and had also bagged the fastest lap of the race.

Charles Leclerc started one spot behind his main title rival but was unable to cut through the field in a similar fashion. He looked destined for a P5 finish before a late call to pit for fresh soft tires on the final lap earned him a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. That strategy call and the subsequent penalty saw him drop to P6 behind Alpine's Fernando Alonso.

Speaking to the media after the race, Charles Leclerc admitted that the obvious pace advantage Red Bull enjoyed throughout the weekend has left Ferrari a bit worried. The Monegasque driver said:

“If you look at Red Bull, they were on another level, and they found something this weekend that is a bit worrying for us. For now, we don’t exactly understand [it]. They are still extremely quick in the straights, it looks like they have no downforce, but then they get into the corner and they are as quick as us, or quicker. So it’s a bit worrying.”

Ferrari will need to brainstorm a solution to this soon or could end up losing more ground in the battle against Red Bull with races at Zandvoort and Monza on the horizon where pace will be vital for victory.

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Charles Leclerc will be the 'real deal' in F1 over time, claims David Coulthard

Charles Leclerc is still maturing as an F1 driver and has what it takes to become the real deal in the future, according to David Coulthard.

Leclerc started the season strong with two wins in the opening three races and led the World Drivers' Championship right up until the 2022 F1 Spanish GP.

Since then, things have mostly gone downhill for Leclerc, and the Monegasque is partially to blame. In the last 10 races of the season, he only has one podium in Miami and a win in Austria to boast. While Ferrari's unreliable package and ill-conceived strategies have played a major role in his misfortune, personal errors also need to be addressed.

Charles Leclerc spun out while chasing the Red Bull of Sergio Perez while in P3 towards the end of the feature race at Imola earlier this season. This ended up demoting the Ferrari driver to P6 in the race. More recently, Leclerc spun out and crashed while leading the 2022 F1 French GP in one of the many frustrating moments for the 24-year-old this season.

Leclerc was outwardly critical of himself for the mistake in France and David Coulthard pointed out that this has been a long-time character trait for the young driver. Speaking in an interview with Channel 4, the former F1 driver said:

“Go back to Azerbaijan [qualifying, 2019] in the Ferrari, popped it into the wall at the chicane and said ‘I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid’. He’s not stupid, he’s a brilliantly fast racing driver. But he’s still maturing in front of the public eye, under the biggest pressure in Formula 1, that’s representing Ferrari. It’s more than a racing company, it’s a country, it’s a worldwide Tifosi. Once he’s ironed out those little errors – and let’s remind ourselves Max Verstappen made errors like that in his early career – he will be the real deal.”

Verstappen did make his fair share of errors before finding a new level in 2021 and has since become even more formidable on the track. Charles Leclerc will need to find something of a similar ilk and soon if he is to have any chance of winning the world title this season.