Former F1 driver has WARNED Charles Leclerc after poor 2023 season so far

Charles Leclerc

Former F1 driver fires WARNING to underperforming Ferrari talent

Jolyon Palmer thinks Charles Leclerc must adapt his style slightly to avoid incidents in future races

Dan McCarthy

Thursday 11 May 2023 18:57 Updated: 19:06

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Former F1 driver and pundit Jolyon Palmer believes Charles Leclerc needs to "reset his expectations" after his crash in qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver spun off in the final session of qualifying on Saturday as he was pushing the limit looking to secure pole for the second weekend in a row.

His accident meant Max Verstappen only started ninth but the Red Bull's superior race day pace was on show once again as Verstappen led Sergio Perez to a one-two finish in the US.

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Leclerc could only finish seventh, which means he has recorded just one podium in five races this season.

Writing in his column on the official F1 website, Palmer said: "For such a talented driver, it’s fair to say he makes a lot of mistakes."

Leclerc told to be more cautious

The Monegasque racer has been frustrated with the Ferrari team this season and has criticised the speed of the car on race days.

He and Carlos Sainz have failed to come anywhere near to troubling the Red Bulls and are being outperformed by both Aston Martin and Mercedes in the Constructor's Championship standings.

Upgrades are due for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in a couple of weeks, but team principal Fred Vasseur says they won't be making huge difference in performance.

Fred Vasseur took over as team boss from Mattia Binotto in the winter

Despite the car's comparative lack of pace, Palmer has questioned the aggressive driving style of Leclerc and says he may need to ease off slightly to avoid making so many errors.

He added: "Leclerc has bemoaned the 2023 Ferrari as being inconsistent with balance, overly wind sensitive and overall tricky to drive, which it might well be, but his driving has also got to be questioned.

"In a car that isn’t as fast as the Red Bull this year, is he searching for lap time that just isn’t there? It seems to me he needs to reset his expectations a little bit."

Palmer is not the first pundit to be critical of Ferrari this season, with Martin Brundle lamenting their lack of reliability.