Charles Leclerc Told to Learn From Lando Norris and Not Blame Ferrari for Failures by Dutch Racing Driver

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has struggled in recent races and has been given instructions on how to proceed if he is to assist his team in overcoming their present rut.

By Blesson Daniel

Published on Aug 19, 2024 | 08:08 PM IST | 49.3K

Lando Norris & Charles Leclerc [Credit-X]

Charles Leclerc has been advised to follow Lando Norris' example and accept more responsibility for recent failings.

The Ferrari driver made headlines following a poor performance at the British Grand Prix last month. He missed Q3 in qualifying, and his crew made a race-defining blunder by switching to intermediate tires too soon.

Leclerc eventually finished 14th, behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Sauber's Valtteri Bottas. Afterward, Leclerc stated that he thought it was the correct option to pit early "with the message he got" from the team.

The post-mortem had a different tone than that of McLaren driver Lando Norris, who was scathing of his performance in the British Grand Prix.

The Brit began the race in third place but quickly took the lead as the rain began. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton "couldn't believe" how fast McLaren was in the circumstances, as both cars overtook the two Mercedes drivers.

When the track began to dry again, Norris opened up a three-second lead on Hamilton, but the 24-year-old passed up a chance to win.

Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle thought it was "unfair" that McLaren asked Norris to select his tire compound. Norris chose to wear the softs in the hopes of covering up Hamilton, but the move proved to be ill-advised, as he also finished second to Max Verstappen.

The Miami GP winner took responsibility for McLaren's disappointment after the race, telling the press that he hasn't been "making the right decisions lately" in a harsh appraisal of his previous performances.

While Jenson Button expressed fear that Norris might "spiral" if he continued to bring himself down, Tim Coronel praised Norris' attitude and said Leclerc could learn a thing or two.

Speaking on the Racing News 365 podcast, the Dutch racing driver stated: “What I like about is Lando is that he always says ‘I have to do better, I’m in the wrong here, I’m the one’. He doesn’t point around him very much.

“He constantly keeps a mirror in front of himself that he needs to do better or coordinate better. I think that’s what makes him a very nice driver. That’s why I see him still growing. That’s the learning curve, isn’t it, instead of whining and criticizing the team. That’s just a bit too easy.

“That’s what I see Leclerc doing at the moment. He just gets frustrated. You see that they are losing their way. That does not help if you have a driver who is only pointing [the finger]. In the end, you also have to look at yourself.”

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc recently enjoyed a well-deserved summer break before returning to Formula One in Zandvoort this weekend. After an up-and-down first half of the season, the duo spent their vacations away from the racetrack, basking in the sun and sea. The Italian team hasn’t won a race since the Monaco Grand Prix in May, and the revitalized teammates will be looking to change that in the second half of the season.

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