Charles Leclerc needs to be smart as well as fast if he wants to be F1 world champion

These are chastening times for Charles Leclerc.

After his runaway start to the season, Ferrari’s poster boy is learning that outrageous speed and phenomenal car control are not enough to make you Formula One world champion.

The 24-year-old has suffered a massive 55-point swing since the heady days of his early season domination.

So Maranello and its lead driver arrive in Azerbaijan looking to halt Red Bull’s four-win charge at one of the most unpredictable races of the year.

After two victories in the opening three rounds Leclerc was 46 points clear of his biggest rival, Max Verstappen.

In the four races since he has haemorrhaged points and now trails by nine.

He must gaze at the string of recent results and wonder how it can have gone so wrong, so quickly.

After his tortured scream at the strategy snafu in Monaco and his comments afterwards it would be easy to suppose the path to glory lies in Maranello getting their act together.

But Leclerc also needs to look at himself.

In changing conditions he waited on his team to make the strategy call while in the other Ferrari, long before it became an issue, Carlos Sainz told the team - not asked note, told - he would not be taking intermediate tyres but would go straight on to slicks.

It was a brave call, requiring a sense of where the track would be as well as where it was and the best point to make the tyre transition. Acting too early or too late could be disastrous, as Leclerc discovered.

So if Sainz could see the way forward why couldn’t Leclerc?

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco celebrates after setting the pole position in the qualifying session at the Monaco racetrack on Saturday, May 28, 2022. AP

Indeed, but for some dithering backmarkers, Sainz would have