Coulthard sees similarities Leclerc and Verstappen: 'Max did that as well'

Charles Leclerc has the most competitive car he has had so far this season, but after thirteen races the gap to Max Verstappen has built up considerably. This is partly due to the driver's own mistakes, who has been under extra pressure to make up for the points lost to Ferrari. David Coulthard believes that once the Ferrari driver has put those driver errors behind him, he will become 'the real deal'.

The most embarrassing mistake Leclerc made occurred during the French Grand Prix. While many people quickly concluded that Ferrari was responsible, the Monegasque immediately took the blame. When it comes to his own mistakes, he is hard on himself, as reflected in the memorable words, 'I am so stupid', after he parked his Ferrari in the wall in Baku in 2019.

"He's not stupid, he's a brilliantly fast driver," Coulthard told Channel 4 of that moment, seeing Leclerc still maturing under what the Scot labels "the biggest pressure in Formula 1": representing Ferrari. "It's more than a racing company. It's a country, it's a worldwide tifosi," he continued.

According to Coulthard, it is only a matter of time before the Ferrari driver has put the driver's mistakes behind him. The former F1 driver also draws a comparison with the career of Verstappen, who went through a similar growth. "Once he’s ironed out those little errors – and let’s remind ourselves Max Verstappen made errors like that in his early career – he will be the real deal," Coulthard said.