Leclerc’s main weakness as being “primarily mental”, believing the
Monegasque has reached “rock bottom” psychologically. Despite
signing a new Ferrari contract ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya
Grand Prix, Leclerc has endured a challenging start to the new
power unit regulations. While he has often displayed strong one-lap
pace, frequently outperforming Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc has made
several high-profile mistakes. Leclerc spun on the final lap in
Miami while running in a podium position, was well off the pace in
Canada, hit the wall on his final qualifying lap in Monaco, crashed
out of the Monaco Grand Prix while running third, and then crashed
again while fighting for pole in Barcelona. The 28-year-old was
Ferrari’s strongest contender for pole in Barcelona, only to apply
the power too early while on an excellent lap. To add to his woes,
a power steering failure forced him to retire from the race.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has claimed three consecutive podiums, the most
recent being an emotional victory at the Circuit de
Barcelona-Catalunya. Leclerc, after voicing major complaints about
Brembo’s brakes, has switched to Hamilton’s brake set-up in a bid
to turn his form around. In Arnoux’s opinion, the Ferrari driver
lacks confidence in the SF-26 and that his biggest weakness is
currently his mindset, largely due to Hamilton’s remarkable form.
“Right now, his morale is rock bottom,” Arnoux told La Gazzetta
dello Sport . “He’s shown a fragility that was unexpected in some
ways, making too many mistakes. He crashed in Miami, Monte Carlo,
and Barcelona. “He’s clearly not comfortable with the car, but the
problem is primarily mental. He wasn’t expecting this level of
competitiveness from Hamilton.”