Charles Leclerc F1 struggles explained amid 'toughest moment of his career'

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has stated Charles Leclerc is facing the “toughest moment of his career” as he combats a challenging period at Ferrari.

The Monegasque driver scored two podiums at the start of the campaign but has largely been outpaced by team-mate Lewis Hamilton this year.

Hamilton scored Ferrari's only win so far in Barcelona, and currently sits 46 points ahead of Leclerc in the drivers' championship.

Leclerc's woes have extended to critical mistakes, particularly in qualifying, with Palmer deeming the 28-year-old guilty of overdriving.

“Charles is a generational talent,” Palmer wrote on F1.com

“Ever since the junior formulae I’ve seen him do unbelievable things in a car, racing on pure feel and instinct, but his flamboyance has always come with occasional errors. 

“Right now he seems to be in the toughest moment of his career.

“His overdriving has come a little too often and this time on the other side of the garage is a man who knows how to put championship campaigns together, is maximising each result and piling more pressure on. It amplifies the struggles for Charles.”

Palmer has theorised that Leclerc's struggles stem from the characteristics of the SF-26 challenger, stating Hamilton has been more adept at dealing with the constraints.

“Leclerc has always driven on the limit, but this year the Ferrari car is snappy,” he said.

“Its great strength seems to be in having a front end working well with the rear end dancing behind it.

“Typically I’d have said that would favour Charles over Lewis, but it seems Charles’ natural aggressive style is provoking the car into snappiness a lot more than Lewis, whose calmer style seems better suited.

“I’ve no doubt that it won’t be long until we see the best of Charles once again, but at this moment it feels like he just needs to get his head down and strike some clean weekends on the board to rebuild his confidence and swagger.

“Austria was difficult for Ferrari and Silverstone might not be much easier with long straights, but if he can build some form once more, a circuit like Budapest on the horizon could provide a much better opportunity for us to see Charles back at his best – after all, he took pole there last year, and this year’s Ferrari is a much better package.”