Martin Brundle has called on Charles Leclerc to eliminate his costly mistakes as it is holding himself and the Ferrari team back.
Last time out at the Miami Grand Prix, Leclerc crashed during Friday practice and on his final Q3 lap on Saturday.
Ferrari has endured a difficult opening five races to the 2023 campaign and currently sits fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Through various on-track mistakes, Leclerc has been labelled as error-prone – a trait that Brundle says the Monegasque driver must stamp out.
“Ferrari are struggling for race pace and a distant fifth and seventh was a poor result for them,” he wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
“Leclerc must stop crashing his car, it’s holding him and the team back.
“There are always knock-on effects during a race weekend from those incidents, and he needed a new aero underfloor after the qualifying crash which may have contributed to the bouncing and issues he reported in the race.
“He is unbelievably fast and committed, and he can afford to trade a fraction of that to build a better race weekend, and so a better season.
“He must lead the team to higher things and not keep the repair shop so busy.”
Brundle: Red Bull can finish 1-2 at every race
While Ferrari has endured a difficult start, Red Bull has excelled at the opening rounds, taking four 1-2 finishes so far.
It was unbeatable once again last time out in Miami – and Brundle believes that the Milton Keynes-based squad can replicate the result at every race this year.
“It’s a pity that Red Bull breached the cost cap regulations last year because it’s too easy for some to try to minimise what they are achieving now,” he said.
“They are dominant, and it’s for the other teams and drivers to do a better job.
“With the DRS rear wing open the Red Bull is fundamentally much faster in top speed than the other nine teams, so much so that I suspect that wherever they start on the grid, and given no outside factors, they can finish one-two.
“Their speed is simply irresistible and that’s where the other teams must focus.
“It won’t be easy, that’s an overall car design philosophy rather than an update, and even then, only after they’ve understood what Red Bull are doing to dump so much drag.”
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