Marcus Ericsson was a teammate of Charles Leclerc at Alfa Romeo in 2018. The Monegasque came to F1 after having been crowned Formula 2 champion and the Swede quickly realized the talent of the current world leader.
In recent statements by the current IndyCar driver, who plays for the Chip Ganassi Racing team, Ericsson praised his former teammate and got wet regarding the strategy that Ferrari should follow in the fight for the drivers’ championship.
“He’s so dedicated to his job and so eager to do well and learn. Ever since he came into the garage, he started asking me a lot of questions,” Ericsson , who was in his fifth full season in Formula 1, told F1 Nation at the time. 1.
Another aspect that the Swede wanted to highlight about the Monegasque is that it was not difficult for him to sing the ‘ mea culpa ‘ after making a mistake: “He is very critical of himself. That is also one of his strongest qualities. He makes mistakes, he learns of them and comes back even stronger. This year he has a car that can fight for the top positions and he is also up to the task”.
Leclerc and Verstappen have already faced each other in almost all the grand prix this year and it seems that it will continue to be so throughout the course. Taking this into account, it seems more than obvious that the pressure to be champion will become enormous at some point, something that the Red Bull driver has already experienced, but that the #16 has not yet experienced.
However, Ericsson also hopes and trusts that Leclerc can handle pressure well: “He’s very good mentally too. The more pressure he gets, the better he’ll perform,” said the Swede.
Currently, the Monegasque leads the drivers’ championship with a total of 104 points, while his teammate, Carlos Sainz, has added almost half.
Bearing this in mind, it could be important for Ferrari to discuss internally how the division of roles between its drivers should look like, especially after Red Bull has made steps forward in recent events: “Charles is increasingly taking on the role of leader” Ericsson said.
“I think that as a team they should support him in the fight for the title, even if Carlos is not satisfied. History shows that it is always good to choose a leader in these situations. That was the case for Max [Verstappen] and for Lewis [Hamilton], and I think that Ferrari will also do it, in the direction of Charles”.
At Red Bull, and despite Sergio Pérez’s good start to the season, the Swedish driver is quite clear that when making a decision that influences both drivers, Horner and company will not hesitate to play all their cards in favor of Max Verstappen .
