Charles Leclerc’s former driver coach says he can challenge Max Verstappen ‘in an inferior car’

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Charles Leclerc is the ‘only guy’ on the Formula 1 grid who’s as good as Max Verstappen when it comes to racecraft, Jock Clear says.

Leclerc and Verstappen have occasionally served up gripping wheel-to-wheel racing, most notably in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at the start of the 2022 season. They looked set to fight for the title that year but Ferrari fell away from Red Bull.

Verstappen has finished at least 77 points ahead of Leclerc every year since 2020, indicating a disparity in the performance of their cars. Clear says that’s robbing fans of an unmatched spectacle.

Charles Leclerc can keep Max Verstappen ‘very honest’ in slower car

Speaking on Peter Windsor’s YouTube channel, Clear noted that Leclerc had rarely had the opportunity to fight Verstappen on ‘equal’ terms. But even with ‘inferior’ machinery, he has been able to cause the Dutchman problems.

Clear recently worked as Leclerc’s driver coach at Ferrari before leaving the team at the end of 2025.

He isn’t the first observer to make this point, though. Isack Hadjar says Verstappen shows Leclerc more ‘respect’ when they duel on track.

Does Charles Leclerc have the best racecraft in F1?

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“He brings a very good level of racecraft to his game. At the moment, he’s the only guy who can match Max. We haven’t often seen Charles and Max go at it in equal cars. In that situation, I think it would be a very tough choice, which way that would go.

“We have seen it on occasion where Charles has been in an inferior car to Max, but he’s kept Max very honest.”

The Michael Schumacher role that doesn’t ‘come naturally’ to Charles Leclerc

Leclerc recently overtook Kimi Raikkonen for second on the all-time Ferrari start list (153). If he stays for another year, he will pass Michael Schumacher at the top (180).

The only mark against the Monegasque’s name is that he hasn’t won a world title in red. Clearly, this is largely a failure on the team’s part.

But Clear says Leclerc must try to emulate Schumacher by leading the team to a championship-winning level, even if that role doesn’t ‘come naturally’ to him.

• READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher says Lewis Hamilton has now taken Charles Leclerc out his ‘comfort zone’ at Ferrari

“Where does he need to improve? It may be a bit unfair, because the Ferrari environment is such a big animal, but to be the leader in that team and to take that team to winning a championship, that’s what he needs to keep working at.

“It’s not a criticism, because it is very, very difficult. Not many people have done it. But you look at when Michael did it, it took him five years.

“Charles is still on that journey. He’s doing a better and better job. This year is another example of it. Charles is part of keeping that team going in the right direction, not allowing it to eat itself when the criticism comes in, when they don’t win races, when they have tough championships, to keep the drive.

“I think Charles is now getting to grips with that, but it’s been the most difficult path for him. What comes naturally to him is getting in a car and chucking it around a circuit.”

Lewis Hamilton will see himself as the driver to take Ferrari over the top given his past achievements in F1, but Leclerc continues to have the edge in their intra-team battle.