Max Verstappen told he has key factor which gives him Charles Leclerc advantage

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton in April

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Max Verstappen has “more self-confidence” which has given him the edge over Charles Leclerc in the title fight, according to ex-Ferrari F1 star Mika Salo. Salo claims this has enabled Verstappen to develop into the “perfect driver” who makes few mistakes compared to his rivals.

Speaking to RacingNews365, he said: “Max has a lot more self-confidence. He already has a title in his pocket and constantly wins races. That self-confidence is Max’s strongest point. He doesn’t make any mistakes anymore, whereas a few years ago he sometimes did. That is completely gone now. Max is the perfect driver and he can play with Leclerc because of that.”

Salo adds Leclerc has “less confidence” behind the wheel as a result of Ferrari’s failures. He claims Verstappen’s Red Bull squad “rarely make mistakes” which makes a “big difference” to the Dutchman’s mindset.

The Prancing Horse has made a series of errors this season which has cost Leclerc points in the title fight. Bad strategy calls saw him lose out on the chance of victory at his home race in Monaco before bad calls also cost him at the British and Hungarian Grand Prix.

The pressure for the Ferrari star has also seen him make a few of his own errors, throwing away seven points at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and a likely 25 at the French GP. Salo explained: “I think at Red Bull there is more experience, also in working with Max.

“Leclerc is still a bit more uncertain. He has less confidence because things go wrong so often and he feels less support from the team. For him, it must almost feel like waiting to see what would go wrong next.

“That while Max knows he has a good car, which is fast, and his team also rarely make mistakes. That makes a big difference.” David Coulthard has also admitted to seeing a change in Verstappen since beating Lewis Hamilton to the crown last year.

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He added: “His life goal was achieved and that is reflected in his [driving] this year. Has he gotten faster? No, I don’t think so, because he was very fast. It is almost impossible to do better than in 2021 in that respect. But is he more relaxed and mature? That 100 per cent.”

Leclerc now lies more than three race victories behind Verstappen with just nine events remaining. A victory in Paul Ricard would have cut the defect to under 50 points and bring him back in contention.

Leclerc admitted he was “losing too many points” in his championship fight and stressed his errors were “unacceptable”.

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