Coulthard on tipping point in F1 2022: 'Leclerc was on his own'

Ferrari may have looked the strongest after the first few races, but later in the year Red Bull Racing proved supreme. David Coulthard tells what he believes was the tipping point in the 2022 Formula 1 season.

For title contenders Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, the tipping point did not come at the same time. Verstappen began to believe that the title race would be decided in his favour after Leclerc crashed from a leading position at the French Grand Prix.

A painful moment for Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver continued to believe in it a little longer. For him, it became clear after Verstappen's dominant overtaking race at Spa-Francorchamps that he could not be overtaken.

Tipping point in Formula 1 season 2022

As for Coulthard, the tipping point came at Paul Ricard. Not only because of Leclerc's crash, but also because of poor communication between team and driver. "It was a kind of indication that Leclerc was driving around on his own," said the Scot in conversation with Formule1.nl.

Ferrari bombarded the drivers with questions about tyre choice and strategy. In itself, Coulthard thinks there is nothing wrong with that, but he stresses that if the team had confidence in itself and was aware of what the competition had done during their race simulations, it could have known which tyres to choose.

"A team that is confident also gives confidence back to the driver. If you ask a lot of questions, you create doubt," explained the former F1 driver. He says that was on display at Paul Ricard, where Leclerc wanted too much and went wrong as a result. "That gave us an insight into how the team was not the unit it could have been," Coulthard said.