‘Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz can’t win F1 title due to “silly mistakes”’

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will not be Red Bull’s top competition this season because they make “silly mistakes”, Ralf Schumacher says.

Sainz became the only non-Red Bull driver to win an F1 grand prix last season when he claimed victory in Singapore.

But Ferrari were not always Red Bull’s closest competitors, and they slipped behind McLaren and Mercedes by the end of the year.

Asked if he was ruling out the Ferrari duo as top challengers to Max Verstappen, Schumacher told the Formula For Success podcast: “For me, yes.

“It could be possible but, the drivers?

“You never know what they will do.

“They lead a race and they spin off, they crash, they make silly mistakes which often surprises me.”

However, Schumacher (whose legendary brother Michael Schumacher won five championships in a row with Ferrari) does see reason for optimism at the Italian team.

“Fred Vasseur is doing a good job at Ferrari,” he said of the team principal who will take charge of his second season in 2024.

“You can see the group is growing together. There are less mistakes. Very good pit stops.

“But, at the moment, I do not see them as the biggest contender.

“Maybe I am wrong.

“You will see at the first test and in the first two races. It will be easier to judge.”

Leclerc finished fifth, and Sainz seventh, in the 2023 F1 standings.

But Ferrari’s long wait to crown a drivers’ champion - their first since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 - goes on.

There is hope in Italy surrounding the 676, their F1 2024 car.

It passed its first crash test and, unlike last year, hit the weight limit at its first attempt meaning they have succeeded in making their car lighter.

Ferrari are also busily trying to agree new contracts to reaffirm their faith in the drivers who Schumacher doubts.

Leclerc’s deal is reportedly taking priority, before Sainz’s will become the focus.