Fred Vasseur reveals the key mistake Charles Leclerc made when he first reached Formula 1

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Charles Leclerc made his Formula 1 debut in 2018 following a successful season in feeder series Formula 2, and was hailed as the next young hotshot for Ferrari.

Having been signed under Nicholas Todt’s management, Leclerc was also part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and was effectively a driver in waiting when he made his debut with Sauber.

The Swiss team was under the leadership of Frederic Vasseur at this point, who was appointed to lead them after his success with ART in Formula 2.

Leclerc was a fresh-faced rookie and although he made a few mistakes, he impressed by bringing home points and beating experienced teammate Marcus Eriksson.

Although it was a great rookie season, Vasseur thinks Leclerc did one thing too often when discussing it on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

Fred Vasseur believes Charles Leclerc was too honest with media while at Sauber

Dealing with the media is one of the core responsibilities of an F1 driver and the ability to manage expectations is key, as it can put a lot of pressure on bringing in results.

Vasseur believes Leclerc was too honest in the early stages of his career, which put him under more scrutiny than necessary, especially for a driver racing for a team at the back of the grid.

“Charles is the first one to say my mistake when he’s doing something wrong. He’s incredibly fast and quick, and a good understanding of the car. This characteristic is there, and he’s part of the family at Ferrari, clearly,” said Vasseur.

“You are never too honest. And in the relationship between Charles and the team, it’s always very positive. Sometimes with the media, if you are too honest, you are under the spotlight for the next two weeks. I remember the first races of Charles at Sauber in 2018. Probably he did too much at this stage.”

READ MORE: Five worst moments of Charles Leclerc’s F1 career

What happened in Charles Leclerc’s first F1 season?

Sauber used Ferrari power units and was undergoing a rebrand as the Alfa Romeo factory team, so there was a great opportunity for Leclerc to impress.

That he did with a sixth place at Baku, followed up by points finishes at four of the next five races through the European season.

A few retirements at Silverstone, Hungary and Belgium were followed up by points finishes in the tough Singapore and Russian Grands Prix.

The one in Singapore came on the weekend he was announced as a Ferrari driver, but in the opening practice session, he crashed his Sauber. It was a great recovery for what could’ve been a disastrous weekend.

Leclerc rounded off the season with three seventh-place finishes in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi which was enough to beat Eriksson and finish 13th in the Drivers’ Championship.

Under the leadership of Vasseur, Leclerc would go on to earn a seat at Ferrari and replace Kimi Raikkonen for the 2019 season.