Vasseur sees Leclerc's strongest point: 'Only Hamilton does that'

Ferrari seem to have built the faster car in 2022, but reliability has caused many points lost to Red Bull Racing. Also, the strategists have blundered on several occasions and Leclerc himself has made mistakes. The result is that both Leclerc and the team are looking at a significant deficit in both championships. F1 journalist Mathias Brunner spoke to the Monegasque's former team boss and writes on Speedweek.com that Vasseur saw a rare trait in Leclerc. Vasseur was the team boss in 2018 when Leclerc made his F1 debut, but also worked with him at ART in the year they took the GP3 title.

Hamilton and Leclerc are unique in self-criticism

Vasseur: "Apart from his unrivalled talent? I have only seen one other driver be so ruthless in criticising himself when his performance was below par and that was Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton and Leclerc are the only drivers I have seen in my F1 career with self-criticism, even after a win. All the other drivers would have patted themselves on the shoulder, but these two know they should have driven better. They approach that relentlessly."

A good example of that self-criticism was Leclerc's reaction after his crash in France. The Ferrari driver was leading the race and had a good lead on his rival Max Verstappen when he suddenly parked his car in the wall. A big mistake for the Monegasque, causing him to lose important points in the championship. Leclerc was hard on himself afterwards and only blamed himself. His conclusion was telling: "Who makes such mistakes, should not even think about the title. Such a driver does not deserve the title."