Leclerc will be ‘feeling pretty defeated at this point’

Danica Patrick said that Charles Leclerc will be “feeling pretty defeated at this point” after yet another pole position failed to be converted into a race win.

It seems a long time since the Australian Grand Prix when Leclerc had won all but one of the opening three races and looked the most likely of the title contenders. The situation at the top of the table now looks remarkably different.

Max Verstappen is disappearing over the horizon and even Sergio Perez is now ahead of the Ferrari driver in the standings.

Perhaps what is worse for Leclerc is his run of poor form has been nothing to do with him. In Monaco, Ferrari botched his pit stop strategy so while he may have finished his home race for the first time, it was in P4 rather than in P1 that he had earned in qualifying.

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Then in Baku, an engine failure sent him out when he looked like he may be able to challenge Verstappen for his first win since Melbourne.

Patrick, the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing, has suggested that will be playing on Leclerc’s mind and that he will be “feeling pretty deflated” as a result.

“Especially when you’re leading – that’s like the worst situation that you can possibly have,” Patrick said on Sky Sports.

“Carlos went out early so Ferrari clearly has some issues. At the beginning of the season, Red Bull had a few glitches here and there but Ferrari has taken over with that.”

“I’m sure Charles is feeling pretty defeated at this point in time,