Charles Leclerc’s Australian GP drive gave me ‘flashbacks’ to Michael Schumacher, says David Coulthard

Leclerc sparked memories of the seven-time champion Schumacher

Leclerc won in Melbourne (AFP via Getty Images)

Ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard says Charles Leclerc’s drive at the Australia Grand Prix gave him “flashbacks” of Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher won seven world titles for Ferrari and Leclerc was close to equalling the F1 legend’s achievement in the opening three races. Leclerc has had the best opening to a season for Ferrari since Schumacher in 2004, when the German got a perfect 30 points from three races while Leclerc has recorded 71 from 78 available.

“I had a little bit of a shiver actually, a flashback to when Michael was dominant in the Ferrari,” Coulthard told Channel 4. “All my fears came back again! We’ve got to acknowledge he [Leclerc] is a quality driver, a great human being.

“Ferrari has worked hard, and Mattia Binotto, what a cool character he’s been under all the pressure of the lack of performance over the last two years. That [Leclerc’s drive] was dominant. That really was an impressive display.”

Leclerc had a controlled and dominant drive in Melbourne, with his main competition - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen - having to retire with car trouble.

And Leclerc was surprised he did as well as he did on a track which was suspected to be a difficult one for Ferrari.

“What a great victory this was for us,” he said. “We managed our pace well and were extremely competitive. We didn’t suffer from tyre degradation, even when pushing hard. The car was just amazing and I’m very pleased with how my race went. On paper, this was a track that we expected to be tough for us, so we have to review our data because we were in fact very strong.

“It’s a great way to start the season, but we have to keep in mind that we are only three races into a very long championship. We can’t afford to relax at any moment and have to stay on top of things, most of all on development.

“Congratulations to everyone on our team. What an amazing job you have all done! I’m very proud of how far we’ve come and can’t wait to continue fighting.