Leclerc denies being permeable to pressure after his accident at Paul-Ricard

A cry of distress and a straightforward self-flagellation. This is how Charles Leclerc left Paul Ricard the previous weekend. There had already been the small off-track at Imola which cost him six points after attacking the chicane with a little too much optimism. Castellet's mistake is unfortunately even more difficult to swallow, because it occurred when the native of Monaco was leading the Grand Prix, when he started on pole, when he was never able to restart and that he was slowly starting to distance himself from his main pursuer Max Verstappen. The Dutchman had also just passed through the pit lane and had shifted strategy.

Reappearing for the first time in the paddock in Hungary, after spending two days locked up at home in the Principality with family and friends, the driver Ferrari returned to AUTOhebdo and other media on the loss of grip he experienced with his F1-75 at Paul-Ricard. He intends to move on as quickly as possible. 

“At the end of the day, it won't do me any good to feel sorry for myself over this mistake. I made it. It cost me points. I'm aware of it and that's it. I have to move on from now on, focus 100% on my weekend, do the best I can, win and everything will be fine." he said with a smile which still hid a disappointment not yet completely digested.

At Castellet, Leclerc ended up in the wall. © DPPI

What really happened in the Beausset double law? Has the Monegasque succumbed to the pressure? He, in any case, denies it. “The real pressure was when Max was behind me a little earlier. At the time of the accident, he had opted for a non-optimal strategy. So I just had to focus on my own race and that's what I was doing. Then of course, when you flirt with the limit, you can make mistakes. I just went a little too far and that's it.".

As is often the case, you couldn't count on him to make excuses. “I hate to say it's the fault of the wind or the birds singing or whatever, explained Leclerc. At the end of the day, I'm driving the car and I'm the one who made the mistake. Of course, the conditions changed with each lap, but it was the same for everyone. It’s immediately more difficult when you’re at the limit, but once again, everyone had to deal with that.”

The Scuderia protégé intends to relaunch in Hungary, on the Magyar turnstile. A track which, however, never smiled too much on him. “Paul-Ricard and Budapest are two tracks on which I had a little more difficulty than elsewhere in the past personally, Leclerc slipped. But that was also the case in Australia this year and in the end, I managed to have a great weekend (pole and victory). So I hope I can change that here too.” As for the possibility of a world champion title, Charles has not yet given up on it despite being 63 points behind… “As long as it’s not over, I’ll believe it”. He will simply no longer have the right to make mistakes. 

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