Sauber's Pujolar has no doubts about Leclerc's true potential

©Sauber

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Xevi Pujolar, Sauber's head of trackside engineering, says Charles Leclerc is definitely the real deal and an F1 world champion in the making.

For the second race in succession, the 20-year-old rookie scored a top-10 finish for the Swiss outfit following a solid drive in last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

The close working relationship between the driver and the engineer puts Pujolar in the perfect spot to assess the Monegasque's entry into F1. And the Spaniard just can't offer enough praise.

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"He is a potential champion. Definitely," he told El Mundo Deportivo newspaper.

"The way he is very demanding with himself, I've seen in other drivers like him. He does everything to the maximum and until he does, he's not happy. And he wants the same from those around him.

"They're the kind of people who ultimately win because they're always looking for their limits," Pujolar added, who previously guided Max Verstappen's first steps in F1 with Toro Rosso.

"He has many things I have seen in other great drivers, but I prefer not to compare. What I can say is that if the car improves he would do great results."

©Sauber

Leclerc, who won the F2 championship last year, remains contracted to Ferrari as a Scuderia junior driver. And Pujolar is convinced that if he is provided a winning car, the young charger can deliver the goods.

"Okay, at some of the first races he made mistakes, but that's normal. You arrive from Formula 2 where you've won everything and find that everyone is a champion," he says.

"So at the beginning it's a shock. You think 'How is that driver as fast as me?' But once this type of driver knows how to regulate their potential, everything starts to happen.

"Sauber is the best place he could have started in F1," he added.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.