Schumacher sends Leclerc ‘mistakes’ warning amid ‘crossroads’ moment at Ferrari

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Ralf Schumacher claims Charles Leclerc is ‘at a crossroads’ moment and must assess his mistakes as Carlos Sainz has now emerged as the ‘clear No1’ Ferrari driver in 2023.

It has been far from the year that Ferrari would have hoped for as the Scuderia trail Red Bull and Mercedes in the constructors’ championship. Sainz also only ranks in fifth in the driver’s standings, slightly in front of Leclerc in sixth place with 15 points separating the teammates.

Sainz was also the driver to deny Red Bull a perfect season by winning the Singapore Grand Prix in September. Yet it only marked the 29-year-old’s second podium for the year and only his second Grand Prix win. The Spaniard also got on the rostrum with his third place in Italy.

Schumacher warns Leclerc to learn from the Ferrari star’s ‘mistakes’

Leclerc, on the other hand, has given Ferrari three podium finishes in 2023. The 25-year-old finished third at the Azerbaijan and Belgian Grand Prix, plus second at the Austrian GP. But he also has three Did Not Finishes on the Monegasque’s record, while Sainz has one thus far.

A power unit failure saw Leclerc retire from third place at the Bahrain GP. While contact with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll saw the five-time Grand Prix victor retire from the Australian GP. Ferrari retired him at the Dutch GP after damage from contact with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Yet while his retirements were not necessarily fully Leclerc’s fault, occasional mistakes have again crept into the Ferrari star’s racing. He also made some costly mistakes during his brief battle with Max Verstappen for the 2022 drivers’ championship that scuppered any dreams.

Schumacher believes Sainz is now the ‘clear No1’ driver for Ferrari

Leclerc crashed out of the lead of the 2022 French GP whilst pushing to try and stay in front of Verstappen. And it is errors like that which have blighted Leclerc’s record book since the 2017 Formula 2 champion broke into Formula 1 as a vastly promising talent for Alfa Romeo.

Now, Schumacher claims Leclerc must assess his mistakes having lost the ‘clear No1’ driver tag at Ferrari to Sainz. Otherwise, the Monegasque risks wasting his undisputable talent that has taken 20 pole positions. Leclerc also finished second in the 2022 drivers’ championship.

“Leclerc is now a bit at a crossroads,” Schumacher said on the Formel1.de YouTube channel. “He has to look [at himself] now because there’s no point being the eternal talent who is super-fast but doesn’t get it right in the end.

“[He] wants to take the crowbar and fight. Charles wants to make the difference with all his might and then runs over his car and also makes mistakes. Sainz is more level-headed.

“Sainz is not as blessed with talent as Leclerc, I’m pretty sure of that. [But he is] the more rounded package because he simply feels comfortable.”