Charles Leclerc told £12m-a-year driver has now overtaken him as the best qualifier in Formula 1

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Charles Leclerc might be wondering when Ferrari are going to build him a car capable of challenging for the drivers’ championship.

Among many people in the paddock, Charles Leclerc is considered the fastest driver over one lap on the grid.

Martin Brundle once said Leclerc was even faster than Max Verstappen in qualifying but he has yet to add to his tally of 26 pole positions in 2025.

Instead, he’s had to settle for an average qualifying position of 5.75 this year, putting him fifth in the standings.

Oscar Piastri has the most pole positions this season, with McLaren teammate Lando Norris, Verstappen and George Russell the other drivers to have achieved that feat.

Even Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli have started from the front of the grid at the first two Sprint events of the campaign.

Leclerc has been left frustrated with Ferrari’s progress this year, and it may be starting to affect his reputation in the paddock.

F1 pundit Davide Valsecchi believes that one driver has surpassed Leclerc in qualifying this season.

After taking pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix, Russell might now be the driver with the advantage over the rest of the field over one lap.

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George Russell told he’s a better qualifier than Charles Leclerc after the Canadian Grand Prix

Valsecchi was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast and was talking about Russell’s performances in qualifying this season.

He explained: “This year, in Miami [he] was not [as] competitive as his teammate and it ended up being in a good position at the end.

“But tell me when? In the race in Imola, but the team was nowhere. Also, Antonelli was nowhere with the race pace there.

“I mean, I know that in the past it was up and down a bit, but there’s no sign this year that he’s been inconsistent.

“I think that every time in qualifying, he’s one of the men who pull off the performance and get the third position.

“It’s more often up there than Leclerc, who they consider one of the best ones in quali.

“And I think that this year, many, many times he’s surprised everyone, having his last lap under the chequered flag with maximum pressure in quali.”

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Davide Valsecchi thinks Lewis Hamilton is the reason George Russell is ‘underestimated’

Russell, who is on a £12m-a-year deal at Mercedes, has taken over as the team leader for the Silver Arrows this season.

Although Russell doesn’t have a contract for next season yet, he’s stepped up brilliantly, and if he were in a slightly faster car, he would be in contention to win the drivers’ championship.

Russell has previously been named the most underrated driver in F1, and Valsecchi was asked why he thinks Russell is so underestimated and explained: “His behaviour outside the car is always, I don’t know, he’s a bit very good boy, very gentleman-like.

“But we know that the drivers inside the track they are not gentlemen, and they are the opposite.

“I don’t know, probably it’s for this reason and probably because in England everyone was loving Hamilton and he was his teammate.

“Last [season] was impressive, and there is a quality also that makes him an interesting guy and probably one of the favourites.

“If he has the right car to fight for the championship, in qualifying, he’s competitive.”