Charles Leclerc told 4 reasons why Ferrari F1 driver has failed to convert last 12 poles by Martin Brundle

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Martin Brundle has now outlined the four reasons why the Sky Sports F1 pundit thinks Charles Leclerc has failed to convert the Ferrari gem’s last 12 pole positions into wins.

The 22-year-old has now failed to convert a P1 start into a race victory in the past 19 months since April 2022. Leclerc won the Australian GP with a 20-second lead to Sergio Perez after starting from pole in Melbourne. But his only Grand Prix win since came after starting in P2.

Single-lap pace is not Leclerc’s problem with Brundle confident that the Monegasque is one of, if not the, fastest Formula 1 drivers right now. Only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took more pole positions than Leclerc in 2023. He led the grid 12 times to the Ferrari driver’s five times.

Leclerc and Verstappen have the most F1 pole positions over 2022 and 2023

Just Perez, Carlos Sainz (2) and Lewis Hamilton (1) also sealed a pole position in 2023. While Leclerc topped the chart in 2022 with nine pole positions to Verstappen’s seven. But his run of pole positions without the win has reached 12 after failing to convert at the Las Vegas GP.

Leclerc could only finish second to Verstappen after a brilliant last-lap overtake on Perez. He lost the lead after Red Bull stopped their two drivers under the second safety car of the race in Sin City. Ferrari opted to keep Leclerc on a one-stop strategy so as not to give up the lead.

The Scuderia’s decision, ultimately, did not pan out as Leclerc added the Las Vegas GP to an unwanted record. He also got pole at the Azerbaijan, Belgian, United States and Mexico City GP in 2023. He finished the races in P3 except the US GP where he was disqualified from P6.

His record of pole positions without a win started at the 2022 Miami GP. Verstappen edged Leclerc for the win by four seconds. Leclerc also took pole last year for the Spanish, Monaco, Azerbaijan, French, Italian and Singapore GP. But he retired in Spain, Azerbaijan and France.

Brundle outlines why Leclerc has failed to convert his last 12 poles into wins

Brundle has now claimed that Verstappen and his all-conquering Red Bull team are only one of the reasons behind why Leclerc has failed to convert the Ferrari driver’s last 12 Grand Prix pole positions into wins. He also feels the Scuderia have not always helped, like in Las Vegas.

“Charles Leclerc has shown his blistering speed on many a qualifying lap,” Brundle told Sky Sports. “You could argue that he’s the fastest [F1 driver] out there at the moment.

“But he’s failed to convert his last 12 pole positions into victories largely because of Mr M Verstappen and partly due to [a] lack of race pace, incidents and sub-optimal strategies.”

Leclerc and Ferrari have equally been to blame for his unwanted record

Leclerc lost the lead of the 2022 Miami GP to Verstappen after struggling with the medium compound Pirelli tyres. But failures of his MGU-H and turbocharger forced Ferrari to retire his car in Spain. Leclerc also hit out at Ferrari’s strategy after finishing P4 at the Monaco GP.

Another power unit problem saw Leclerc retire at the 2022 Azerbaijan GP, as well. But it was Leclerc’s mistake that cost him the French GP after losing the rear end of his car through Beausset and crashing heavily. Perez held on to win the Singapore GP after leading out of T1.

Leclerc would have hoped to atone for his retirement in 2022 after sealing pole for the 2023 Azerbaijan GP. But Verstappen and Perez utilised Red Bull’s superior straight-line speed to make passes with DRS within the opening six laps. Leclerc held on to finish in third in Baku.

Red Bull’s superior pace was the key factor at the Belgian, United States and Mexico City GP, too. Perez also broke Leclerc’s front wing end plate in Mexico after turning in on the Ferrari driver at the start. Leclerc was disqualified from P6 in the US for excessive wear to his floor.