Former F1 driver: 'Leclerc and Sainz are doubting Ferrari's decisions'

Ericsson was Leclerc's teammate in the Monegasque's debut year in 2018. The two drivers drove together for Sauber. Now, Leclerc is fighting for the title at Ferrari, but with a gap of no less than eighty points, it looks like it will be a difficult task to win the championship yet.

Ericsson puts himself in the shoes of his former teammate. The IndyCar driver thinks that Leclerc's frustrations contribute to the mistakes made by Ferrari. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Italians again chose the wrong strategy, causing Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to both finish next to the podium.

"I think he’s very frustrated. I think that he’s been fast this year, but it’s just been a lot of issues," Ericsson tells Sky Sports. The Swedish driver points to the French Grand Prix as an example, where Leclerc ended up in the wall through his own mistake.

'Sainz and Leclerc doubt Ferrari's decisions'

"He wants to get back in the championship hunt and it just is not being the case. It’s gonna be tough for Charles because I think he’ll feel he has had the opportunity to really fight for a championship this year. And he hasn’t been able because of quite a few things out of his control," continues the former F1 driver.

Ferrari does seem to have a strong car, especially in qualifying. Ericsson therefore does not understand why the team is making so many mistakes. "I think the problem, from a driver perspective, and I think we’ve seen it quite a few times this year is that both Carlos and Charles are doubting the decisions that the pit wall is doing during a race. Obviously, that trust that you need to have as a driver with your team, it seems to be lacking a bit between Ferrari and their drivers and, over a season, that’s not good." Ericsson doubts Ferrari can come back into the championship in the second half of the season.