F1 Insider Insists Charles Leclerc And Carlos Sainz Need This Michael Schumacher Trait
Former Ferrari engineer, Rob Smedley, has pointed out the Michael Schumacher trait that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz need to take on during the Maranello-based squad's ongoing difficulties.
Hopes for Ferrari being more competitive against the Red Bull's were high going into the 2023 season. However, Leclerc was forced to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix and he then took on a ten-place grid penalty for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Despite being up near the front, Red Bull is proving difficult to beat.
Smedley likened the current position of the team to when Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996, on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. The F1 icon joined the squad at a time when they had not taken a drivers' or constructors' title since 1983 and he had to stick it out for four F1 seasons until the dry spell was over.
The former engineer explained that Schumacher's trust in the team and constant feedback motivated the team. He said:
“It's the job of the driver to ride through the highs and the lows. And if you ever need an example of this in history, it's Michael Schumacher.
“Michael, through all the difficult times, I never saw him once even privately complain about individuals or complain in a way that wasn’t creating what I call a positive conflict.
“It wasn't a positive critique to say, ‘We have got a problem, let's just be transparent about this problem but let's all head in this direction’. He had complete trust in the technical team and that trust was borne out so when he did have to ride out the troughs, he was there as a motivating factor and helping the team.
“Saying, ‘It’s alright I trust in you, I know you’ll produce a good car’.”
Leclerc and Sainz will be looking to put the pressure on Red Bull and Aston Martin at this weekends Australian Grand Prix.