Hill warns Leclerc to ‘watch it’ over Ferrari criticisms

Damon Hill, the 1996 F1 World Champion, believes Charles Leclerc has to tread lightly in how he criticises Ferrari after his Monaco post-race comments.

Hill told Leclerc to “watch it” over his criticisms of Ferrari after a strategic error from the Scuderia cost the Monegasque driver a potential race victory and even a podium finish in Monte Carlo.

Leclerc had led the race from pole position and looked set to end his Monaco curse until Ferrari were caught out by an aggressive Red Bull overcut during the transition from intermediate to dry tyres.

Leclerc dropped from the lead down to fourth place after being double-stacked behind his team-mate Carlos Sainz in the pits, with the Monegasque shouting over the team radio during the confusion.

Speaking after the race, Leclerc said there had been “too many mistakes” from his team and was not sure if panic had set in when his crew spotted what Red Bull had done.

Leclerc and Ferrari’s once-impressive leads in both championships have vanished over a handful of races between Emilia Romagna and Spain, with the points difference turning into an increasing deficit in Monaco.

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It hurts a lot. That’s it.

Thanks for your continuous support pic.twitter.com/WsXZNyoRzN

— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) May 29, 2022

While Leclerc has been let down by factors outside of his control, a driving error at Imola also cost him valuable points – leading former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher to comment “he should be meek” after “screwing up enough himself”.

Hill also believes