Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has offered a nuanced take on Charles Leclerc’s tendency to be his own harshest critic, calling it both a strength and a potential weakness after the Monegasque’s frustrated outburst following a disappointing qualifying session at the British Grand Prix.
Leclerc, visibly upset after securing only sixth place on the grid despite Ferrari’s strong practice pace, took to the team radio with a string of expletives, including a self-deprecating remark branding himself with a harsh term.
Reflecting in the media pen, Leclerc admitted, “Horrible. Nothing really to say, I think the pace was there for the front row but I eventually didn’t do the job when I needed to.”
A Quality and a Fault
Leclerc’s self-critical trait has surfaced multiple times throughout his career in Formula 1. Vasseur offered his view on his driver’s familiar pattern.
“For probably 10 years or so, one of the qualities of Charles is that he is able to blame himself, and one of the faults of Charles is sometimes he’s blaming himself a bit too much!” Vasseur said at Silverstone.
“As a team, I appreciate a lot the fact that drivers can say, ‘Okay, my mistake’ – this is positive, because it's not bringing the team in the wrong direction and they are human.
“They are doing mistakes as everybody [does], and it’s good to have the drivers able to say this.”
Leclerc has openly admitted he’s “really struggling” during qualifying this season and “not putting everything together,” raising questions about what has changed in his approach. Vasseur believes a shift in focus toward Sunday performance may be a factor.
“He did a real step forward in terms of race pace, perhaps also with the set-up of the car, and it’s all going into the direction to be more difficult for the quali,” the Scuderia chief explained.
“But I remember perfectly that two years ago we were telling him, ‘Charles, we are scoring points on Sunday, let’s be more focused on Sunday, let’s be more focused on the set-up on Sunday’, because it’s Sunday that we are scoring points.”
Ferrari’s Mixed Fortunes
Despite his qualifying struggles, Leclerc currently leads teammate Lewis Hamilton 8-4 in Saturday’s grid-defining exercise and holds 119 championship points to the Briton’s 103.
The pair’s combined efforts have lifted Ferrari to second in the Constructors' standings at the season’s halfway point, trailing only McLaren.
As Ferrari continues its push to close the gap at the top, Vasseur’s balancing act – encouraging self-awareness without allowing it to undermine confidence – may prove vital to unlocking Leclerc’s full potential across both Saturday and Sunday.
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