Schumacher had a harsh assessment of the Ferrari F1 star.

Former Formula 1 champion Ralf Schumacher has criticized Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s “stupid mistakes” in 2023.

Ferrari finished third in the constructors’ championship, with Leclerc and Sainz taking nine podiums, while Red Bull and Max Verstappen once again dominated F1. Although Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix, some of his performances left a lot to be desired as the Spaniard’s season was marred by inconsistency.

It was a similar story for Leclerc, whose fast single-lap pace did not win him the race. That means he now has 12 pole positions without a win. They finished fifth and seventh respectively in the Drivers’ Championship, both 350 points behind world champion Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz was the only man to beat Red Bull in a Formula 1 race in 2023. Charles Leclerc took five poles in 2023 but did not win a single race. ŸMax Verstappen failed to win the drivers’ title for a third consecutive year in 2023.

Schumacher has now revealed that it could have been a small mistake by the two Ferrari stars that prevented their team from closing in on Red Bull in the championship. “That’s right. It might be possible,” the German said on the Formula For Success podcast when asked about Ferrari’s championship chances. ”But with both drivers you never know what they’re going to do. They will lead the race, spin or crash. They’re not against each other, but I often make stupid mistakes that surprise me.

“I think Fred (Wasser) has done well so far and now you can see the group is progressing a bit more with less mistakes and really good pit stops. But I wouldn’t see them as a top contender now. But I could be wrong.

“Well, I think we will find out in the first test or the first two races and then it will be easier to judge.”

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