Mika Hakkinen: Leclerc can’t afford another setback if he wants to catch Verstappen

Hakkinen believes that, given the developments, Leclerc is unlikely to be able to catch Verstappen if he has no problems with the reliability of the car.

Ferrari managed to beat Red Bull last weekend and that will give the team confidence. “Ferrari worked hard to find a way to increase maximum speed on the straights, which they need to compete with the Red Bull. That said, we also saw over the course of the weekend in Austria that Ferrari is able to do better than Red Bull with their tires over the race distance – and this on a track that usually suits Red Bull better.

Of course, the engine problem that occurred on Carlos Sainz’s car shows that Ferrari needs to keep working on improving the reliability of the machinery. I’m sure they know exactly what those problems are. Charles Leclerc can’t afford any more stalling if he wants to catch up with Verstappen. In fact, it’s the opposite – he needs Max to get off in some race to catch up, said Hakkinen.

After starting the race in P2 behind Michael Schumacher, Mika Häkkinen took his first victory of the 2001 season #OnThisDay at the British Grand Prix! 🏆🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/X81EkqG5wb

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 15, 2022