Ferrari sit in Leclerc's way: 'He deserves to have the opportunity'

Felipe Massa is convinced Charles Leclerc is good enough to compete for the world title but feels Ferrari are getting in his way for now. The team did not manage to give him a reliable car last season and Massa wonders whether they will be able to do so in 2023.

Earlier this week, rumours emerged that Ferrari are making a big leap engine-wise compared to Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. Massa points out in the interview with Swiatwyscigow.pl however, that last season went wrong for Ferrari in more ways than one.

Massa analyses Ferrari's challenge

The former Formula One driver believes Leclerc is indeed ready to compete for a world championship victory. Back in 2022, the Monegasque showed that he could mostly stay ahead of Max Verstappen in qualifying. However, things often went wrong in the race, which therefore needs to change.

"Well, first of all I think Charles is doing a fantastic job. He's a great driver," Massa stressed. "He really deserves to be in a competitive car. He deserves to have the opportunity to fight for the championship as a driver. But yeah, I think they need to fix the problem."

"To win the championship, everything needs to be perfect. For me, when you have a season like this, it's important to fix things in the right way. If you start to change things and you change for the wrong way, that is not good."