(Motorsport) Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has reiterated that he will not change his aggressive driving style despite crashing at last weekend’s French Grand Prix. The mistake resulted in Verstappen extending his Championship lead to 68 points and a comeback for Ferrari and Leclerc under the circumstances would be a tall ask. Leclerc finished on pole during qualifying at the Paul Ricard Circuit (as he has done many times this season) but the driver couldn’t capitalise on his advantage despite leading at the beginning of the race.

A visibly upset Leclerc said in the post race interview that his mistake was “unforgivable” and questions were raised about the Monegasque driver being ‘error prone’. Mattia Binotto, Principal of the Scuderia Ferrari, quickly downplayed those suggestions by saying “It is a bit of an unfair judgement. I think that may happen when you are driving to the limit… but there is certainly no reason to blame him. We have always seen that Charles is reacting very strongly and well when he is making mistakes. I am pretty sure he will be back in Hungary stronger and hungrier."

Defending his driving style, Leclerc said “No, I think that's what gave me the edge in most of the races this year. At the beginning of the year, I didn't really know how to manage the car well at some tracks, like Miami I struggled massively at the race but overall, I feel I've got better and better with it, so it's definitely something that I want to keep for sure because it has lots of benefits. The downside is it makes the car more difficult to drive, but I am a racing driver and I need to be able to drive a car that is a bit pushier which I do, but this time, I pushed a bit too much on that lap and I paid the price for it." 

Unfortunately for Leclec, the crash in France wasn’t the first time the 24 year old has made a mistake that has cost him the race. The Monegasque driver gave away 7 points at the Emilia Romagna GP after losing control of his car while being in second place. This combined with Ferrari’s reliability issues that has resulted in two retirements due to engine failure has meant that despite the pace the F1-75 has shown so far, they aren’t where they should be due to various factors. Ferrari is not just the most iconic brand in Formula 1 but also the most successful and it’s strange that the Italian manufacturer last won a Drivers Championship in 2007 through Kimi Raikkonen. While expectations are high from Leclerc, there are doubters who believe that the Monegasque driver isn’t at the same level as Verstappen.

Speaking about his title ambitions, Leclerc said “I do feel I'm ready. If I look at the first part of the season especially, I think it's been my strongest season in Formula 1. I think in the races especially, I've made another step up which is good. Mistakes like last weekend show I've still got some way to go but I'm getting there, and I know my worth. In moments like last Sunday, everyone puts you down and it's not easy but that's fine, it's part of the job. Now I just need to focus on myself, grow from that and show everybody what I'm worth." 

Also read: Vettel announces his retirement from F1 at the end of 2022 season