21 May 2023 , 10:15
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Piero Ferrari has faith in Charles Leclerc and his potential to improve – but admits the Monegasque is no Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman has been improving ever since he made his Formula 1 debut as a teenager and first emerged as a true title contender in that 2021 brawl with Lewis Hamilton. Since winning that, it has become clear that Verstappen now sets the standard for all his rivals to try to match.
Piero, son of the legendary Enzo Ferrari and vice chairman of the eponymous car brand, is also wary that Red Bull star Verstappen is top dog on the F1 grid. "He is incredibly fast. He was already driving in F1 when he didn't even have a driver's license in his possession," said the Italian.
"I was there when he got his first victory in Barcelona. He made his mistakes after that, his accidents. Now he is young and already has a lot of experience. He is a great driver who is now at the peak of his career."
Though he has faith in Leclerc's ability to grow, Ferrari admitted the Monegasque has some way to go before he can match the defending champion. He added: "Charles has the speed to be equal to Verstappen, but he has less experience, in terms of number of GPs. Leclerc can still grow, he will grow."
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And he also thinks there is more to come from Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz, though notably avoided stating that the Spaniard can also match Verstappen. "I think we have not yet seen his true full potential, we are waiting for it," Ferrari said.
Piero Ferrari has faith Leclerc can one day rival Verstappen (Getty Images)However, not everyone is convinced that the Italian team has the right drivers on board to achieve its lofty ambitions. Ralf Schumacher recently expressed his view that Leclerc and Sainz are not good enough to deliver for Ferrari at the highest level.
The German said: "The car isn't great, but it's better than they say. One driver mis-brakes at the pit entrance, while the other hardly finishes a fast lap without crashing. Frank Williams would have clipped me around the ears. The trend just isn't good. I see the biggest problem with the drivers. For me, they're just not consistent enough.
"With his mistakes, Leclerc shows that he either doesn't have the maturity or maybe, at the end of the day, he's not consistently good enough to win a world championship for Ferrari. And Sainz was eight-tenths away from Leclerc in one weekend. To be honest, the Ferrari team is currently doing a better job than both drivers."