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Charles Leclerc’s Achilles Heel Disclosed Amid Relentless F1 Championship Charge

Published 08/02/2022, 2:10 PM EDT

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via Reuters

Apart from the Ferrari F1-75, Charles Leclerc is also riding a roller coaster of emotions. The Monegasque is arguably enduring one of the most frustrating seasons of his career. Only halfway through the 2022 season and Leclerc has already equaled his best tally of seven poles in a season. Despite a favorable start in seven races, the final race results have been anything but favorable for the Ferrari man.

Their underwhelming race results can be blamed on a mix of poor strategy, individual errors, and unreliability of the F1-75. However, more often than not, it’s the Italian team’s strategic calls that have cost Leclerc the win. After multiple errors, an increasingly frustrated Leclerc did not shy away from publicly criticizing his team.

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However, the public criticism has revealed a trait in Leclerc which, according to mind coach Don Macpherson, is his weakness. Macpherson, who works with drivers in the mental aspect of the sport, pointed out the Ferrari man’s “intensity” that is working against him.

He said, “This, I believe, is Charles Leclerc’s problem is that he’s naturally a very intense young man.” 

“You can see he’s quite an intense guy, who does indeed wear his heart on his sleeve, but that’s the same thing the intensity bubbles over,” he added.

Macpherson even offered advice. He said, “So the thing Leclerc needs to work on is to learn to surf the intensity that he has rather than it controlling him cause he’s not under control. That, in my view, is Leclerc’s problem.”

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As pointed out by Macpherson, Leclerc is too intense for his own good. However, Ferrari is now using an expert to help teach Leclerc to point his intensity in the right direction.

Charles Leclerc working with former world champion’s mentor

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Macpherson, while discussing Leclerc on the ‘In The Fast Lane’ podcast, shares news from the Ferrari camp. He reveals that Jock Clear, Jacques Villeneuve’s driver coach, and mentor, is working with Leclerc to help him control his intensity.

via Reuters

He says, “Clear was brought into Ferrari, specifically, to mentor Leclerc. Now, with the greatest respect to Jock Clear, he’s not got to grips with the issue that is causing Leclerc to make errors.”

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Watch this story: Butter Fingers Charles Leclerc Mocked for His Botch-Up While Playing Catch With Miami Marlins Superstar

Don Macpherson offered some fascinating insights into the issue with Leclerc. However, it’ll be interesting to see what happens first. Either Jock Clear’s mentorship work or Ferrari improves their strategy after the resumption. With both scenarios working, Ferrari might just turn their season around and launch a comeback.

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Written by:

Mahim Suhalka

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Mahim Suhalka is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. This Sports Management post-graduate is an ardent supporter of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team and their lead driver, Lewis Hamilton. The fact that Lewis dominated one of the most expensive sports in the world for all these years, despite his humble beginnings, has been a huge inspiration for Mahim and has made him a tenured fan of the competitive sport itself.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh