'Let's remind ourselves that Leclerc is not driving a Red Bull'

Especially in qualifying, Leclerc is excelling again this year. In Baku, he captured two pole positions and in Miami, too, he seemed to be on his way to a spot on at least the second row of the grid again. De la Rosa also finds it clever that Leclerc does not linger on past mistakes. "Well I think that he's not scared of anything I really admire Charles because he's very brave and whenever he makes a mistake he goes out again and pushes to the same limit."

Whereas some drivers need to rebuild confidence after a crash, the Monegasque doesn't seem to suffer from that. "He doesn't need any lap to get back into the groove or get the confidence, his self-confidence back he just goes out there and does exactly what he needs to do. Push to the limit and this is something that not many drivers can do and that's why I think he can drive the Ferrari so well because it doesn't look like an easy car to drive," De la Rosa said.

Praise for Leclerc

The Aston Martin ambassador eventually saw Charles Leclerc finish seventh, the same place he started the race. Perhaps somewhat disappointing, De la Rosa takes credit for the current world championship number seven. "Charles doesn't really care about it you know he just continues doing what he's good at which is driving the car on the knife edge. We were all expecting a bit more because look at what Max did, you know. But let's remind ourselves that Charles is not driving a Red Bull."

Verstappen's race was described as "incredible". "He showed us a masterclass today, but he is also driving a super car," said De la Rosa, concluding with a final word for Leclerc: "How many drivers would have done better than him in a Ferrari today [Sunday]?"