Jacques Villeneuve unsure over Charles Leclerc's title aspirations

1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says he is unsure over Charles Leclerc’s current title aspirations in the Ferrari.

The Monegasque started this season in brilliant form but he has had no luck in the last few races and now finds himself 49 points behind Max Verstappen in the standings as we head towards the British Grand Prix.

Indeed, Leclerc has seen two retirements – the second of which then handed him a grid penalty for Canada – and a botched pit call ruin his last four races, especially when he could have potentially won three of them, and he now has a fight on his hands to catch Max.

Villeneuve, though, isn’t sure he’s going to be able to do it even if the car is totally bulletproof for the rest of the year, with the former Williams driver suggesting he wants to see more from Leclerc:

“He’s super-quick, but right now he still makes a few little mistakes that he shouldn’t.

“Imola, for example, then he’s not helped by the team. That’s the energy they all have together.

“Right now we know he’s fast, he’s aggressive, is he a world champion? Is he like Max, how is he under pressure when it’s money time for the championship?

“That’s what we still need to find out.”

In fairness to Charles, in Bahrain in the fight with Max he showed his mettle and he’s been very unlucky in the races more recently with him not really putting a foot wrong.

Indeed, the only mistake this year you could perhaps level at him was the one in Imola that saw him spin and drop some places, but ultimately he has driven beautifully in the main and deserves to be nearer Max in the championship than he is.

Ferrari fans, then, will just be hoping that the gremlins of recent weeks have gone and won’t return for the rest of the campaign.