Clear has worked with some of the greatest Formula 1 world champions such as Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve.
In an interview on the latest episode of the F1 podcast Beyond the Grid, Clear explained what made Leclerc so impressive during his time at Ferrari since 2019.
“When you say, ‘These are the drivers I’ve worked with, put your finger on the element that really shows through’, [it’s] mental strength certainly with Charles.
“Mentally he’s pretty amazingly strong. It’s easy to forget simply because he is who he is and what he has been doing for the past two or three years. It’s intimidating for Sebastian Vettel when he comes here with four world championships.
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“There were times when he wasn’t the fastest driver, sometimes he struggled, he had races where he chewed his way through the tires twice as fast as his team-mate, so he’s not just fast.
“He’s super fast and we saw how good he is in qualifying. I think qualifying is a good example of mental strength because qualifying is actually an opportunity where you have to perform.
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“It’s a bit like shooting a penalty at the end of the European Championship, that’s pressure. You have to deliver now, there is no “that wasn’t great, but the next one will be fine”. “Qualifying is qualifying and the fact that he is fast in qualifying is another expression of his mental strength.
“But [it’s in] all sorts of behind-the-scenes conversations and intonations he’s experienced that I’m really, really impressed with, how little they affect him on Sunday afternoons. “
While Leclerc has only been in Formula 1 since 2018, Clear feels ready to start a title fight against Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as he has been able to recover from mistakes.
“My first reaction is, ‘God, yes, he’s absolutely ready,” Clear said when asked if Leclerc was ready to fight for the championship. You have to make up for that [the fact] There is no substitute for actually being in this position. That’s a different pressure.
“But I can only say that he has mastered and mastered every other pressure so far. And yes, he made mistakes, but all drivers will make mistakes. We know very well that Max made a lot of mistakes in his previous career, but nobody tells me that Max is not ready to win a championship. So far he has mastered every challenge and was ready for it and was strong enough to get out of those mistakes.
“If you’re put in a position where you’re going to fight for a championship, it’s going to be against Max, against Lewis, it’s going to be tough. You will make a mistake, you will make a mistake, you will lose some points. But will he take it? Yes, he will definitely take it.
“He won’t collapse if he stops in qualifying and has to start from P13 or whatever. He’ll just swallow it and deal with it and in the next race he’ll come back and put it on pole. “
The post Leclerc’s key attribute in Formula 1: “Amazing Mental Strength” – Ferrari | F1 first appeared on monter-une-startup.
