Damon Hill puzzled by Charles Leclerc's dip in Form at Ferrari

Leclerc secured a victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, but the subsequent four races were challenging. He retired in Canada, finished fifth in Spain, but then placed outside the top ten in both Austria and Great Britain.

This poor run of form saw him sitting just four points ahead of his teammate, Carlos Sainz, who has missed a race this season.

"It's a mystery to me because Carlos seems to come out of the situations and make more of what he has than Charles does, and yet Charles is the guy staying [at Ferrari in 2025]," Hill remarked on the F1 Nation podcast.

"I don't understand what is going on at Ferrari that means he is not getting good support from the team and from the strategy and stuff, it seems a little bit muddled."

Ferrari started the season strongly, emerging as Red Bull's closest competitor in the initial rounds. However, their performance has waned, and recent races has seen them overtaken by McLaren and Mercedes in the pecking order.

Leclerc, who has committed to a long-term contract with Ferrari, is set to team up with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025. Hill's comments highlighted concerns about the support Leclerc was receiving from the Ferrari team, particularly from the pit wall.

"I don't quite understand why that should be, whereas Carlos seems to be able to take command of the situation and just say, 'Well, I'm doing this, this is what I want to do,'" Hill continued.

"Maybe that's given the strategy people confidence which they don't have with Charles. So I'm not saying it's the driver's fault, but I'm saying that if Charles is what you've got, you need to be able to have a better, confident pit wall strategy team there for him."

Ferrari's early-season promise has faded, and Hill's observations underscore the need for more decisive and supportive team strategies to help Leclerc regain his form. The team's apparent disarray has contrasted with the confident performances from other top teams.

The upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix, scheduled for the weekend of 19-21 July, will be a critical opportunity for Leclerc and Ferrari to turn their season around. The 13th race of the Formula 1 season is set to take place over 70 laps of the 4.381-kilometre Hungaroring in Budapest on Sunday, July 21.

With the season progressing and the competition intensifying, the pressure is on Ferrari to provide Leclerc with the support he needs to perform at his best.