"He hardly ever does anything crazy" - Charles Leclerc should learn from Sergio Perez, says former F1 champion

F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna
F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill believes Charles Leclerc should learn from Sergio Perez and take fewer risks while battling for top positions.

Calling Leclerc’s late attempts to catch and overtake Perez for P2 at the Imola GP “too ambitious,” Hill felt it was an unnecessary risk that the Monegasque shouldn’t have attempted.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, he said:

"[Leclerc] just thought, 'I'll launch it over the kerb,' and it was just far too ambitious. And you think, why do that when you've got so much responsibility? That's the sort of thing that you need to weed out of your portfolio as a top driver.
"You can't be doing rash moves like that. You look at Sergio. Sergio's a safe pair of hands. He's quick, and he's a safe pair of hands. He hardly ever does anything crazy. He's really good."

Leclerc missed out on a potential podium finish at the Imola GP after losing control of his car. He spun out at the Variante Alta Chicane during the closing stages of the race.

While he left Imola still at the top of the standings, his costly mistake helped title rival Max Verstappen close up the gap.


Charles Leclerc missed out on “opportunity to consolidate” his lead in Imola: Damon Hill

Damon Hill feels Charles Leclerc missed out on an opportunity to consolidate his lead over Max Verstappen at Imola, even if it meant settling for the lowest podium position.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, he said:

"We've seen with Charles of course, Imola was an opportunity to consolidate. And he went for a move which was just a little bit too ambitious, and he called it greedy.
“I was watching sitting down. The moment he turned in; you knew it was too much. I'm not even in the car and I could see it on the telly. I was going, 'That is not going to work.' Boom, he spun off."

Charles Leclerc’s spin cost him and Ferrari seven potential points after dropping down from an easy podium position.

Given that both Ferrari and Red Bull seem to be equally matched in terms of performance so far this season, that mistake might end up costing the Monegasque the championship.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh