Former Ferrari director critical: 'Sainz and Leclerc make too many mistakes'

He is now 84 years old. Yet Cesare Fiorio still follows Formula 1, and Ferrari in particular, closely. The former sporting director of the Italian pride is critical of the performance of the Scuderia, which, although winning a Grand Prix in 2023, 'only' finished third in the constructors' championship.

Speaking to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Fiorio says he is not happy with the aerodynamic part of Ferrari's cars. The performance of the power units is fine in the Italian's opinion. Also, the former director of Ferrari thinks drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz need to improve. "They made a few mistakes too many. But they are both very fast," Fiorio believes.

Leclerc compared to Verstappen and Hamilton

Charles Leclerc is said to be on the verge of signing a mega contract at Ferrari, while Carlos Sainz is said to be far away from a new deal. On a new commitment from the former, Fiorio said: "I think it is a good move because he is getting faster and faster and working on making fewer mistakes. Until recently, he was making too many. But that's normal at that age. Verstappen also made a lot of mistakes at that age during his first years. Now Leclerc is moving more towards what Max and Lewis Hamilton already have in terms of maturity."

The former Ferrari sporting director does seem to forget a small detail in his comparison with Verstappen: indeed, the three-time world champion is older than Leclerc, the age difference being just over two weeks.