Let's not get carried away....Charles looks very, very good....but in almost 70 years of f.1 there was only one Gilles, and it's very unlikely there will ever be anything remotely similar!
With what Charles Leclerc did to the F2 field I would not be surprised if he were at that level. The laps he set in the Sauber last year too, nothing short of impressive. Not even Lewis or Nico dominated the F2 field the same way Charles did in his sole year in F2. I'm no huge fan of the kid really but he's been massively impressive to date. High hopes right!
Let's hope not ! Schumacher would be a better role model, surely . If he is only half as good as some say ( I have to take their word for it) and a challenge to Vettel, Charles Leclerc should have no problem to do better than the Canadian who scored 13 podiums and 6 wins during his 5-year career in F1. Now, it you only talk about showmanship, that's another matter ...
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula-one/47284098 Sebastian Vettel says he sees new Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc as a "full rival" this season. Vettel, 31, has been the team's lead driver for four seasons while Leclerc, 21, has been promoted after one season with the affiliated Sauber team. "He's got the seat for a reason. I've got to take him very seriously," said four-time world champion Vettel. "You always have a close rivalry with your team-mate. He will be quick enough and put me under pressure. "But priority one is to bring the team forward." Vettel's remarks came at the end of the first day of pre-season testing, on which he was fastest, prompting Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff to say Ferrari looked "ultra-strong".
Agreed, I adore Gilles but he had a pretty rocky start, results wise. Qualified 17th in his first start for the Scuderia (Canada 77) and made his way up to 9th before DFN'ing. Qualified 9th in Japan before crashing into Peterson and flying off track where a marshal and photographer were killed. In 78, Reutemann out qualified him 12 to 4 and won 4 races before Gilles took his first ever F1 win in Montreal the last race of the season. If that happened in todays world of social media and forums like this one, he would be crucified and "fans" would be crying for his head on a platter. Just shows how much society and todays fans have changed....Still, I wish Chuck and Seb the best. It's going to take the whole team to defeat the Mercedes juggernaut.
You do realize that Gilles T3 was not running the same tires as the one from Carlos in most races? As well as the fact that carlos did almost all the winter testing, and that Gilles was till very inexperienced? When Gilles started to drive around Fiorano he was 1sec slower than Carlos, when Jody started to lap around Fiorano he was 1sec slower than Gilles!!! Today most drivers arrive to f.1 with many races and a huge amount of experience in simulators and other stuff, not comparable at all.
yes he was, Carlos was very good when he was on the mood..he would have been World champion if Williams had supported him
Indeed. As Vettel said this week “he has the seat for a reason.” For this year I for one just want to see him be consistent and fast, avoiding drama and finishing in the top spots. Podiums would be great, and wins exceptional. But I hope we (and Ferrari) will give him a little time to acclimatize before demanding his head for not dominating every race.
I think these cars make it difficult to judge who is a great racer. If a driver is behind he is also possibly fuel saving, or protecting the tyres, or can't get close because of aero etc, etc, etc. There have been times when Vettel has attacked formidably and other times when he has seemed to make no impact on the car in front.
Yep I also agree with this. My stance is simple...he's made mistakes he shouldn't have made, in the same way, finishing behind his rival all those races wouldn't have done his championship ambitions any good, either. Vettel didn't have the luxury of having a car that was very likely to take pole in any following race, like Lewis had. There was always that extra pressure. Lewis could afford to finish 2nd here and there, as he knew it was extremely likely he'd start the next race up front again anyways. On top of that, Vettel had the ''duty'' of carrying the team, Arrivabene ran a team of blame culture, which doesn't work...Marchionne kept it under control as much he could but when he died, Arrivabene took the reigns of the team completely and went against Binotto's advice on what direction development should take with the car. Binotto has been with Ferrari for 25 years, his entire career I believe. He was right there with Schumacher and learned the culture needed at Ferrari to win. I believe Binotto will run the team with the same philosophy. And Vettel should do a lot better in such a team. He's a 4x world champion, you don't get that by being a complete idiot. Vettel isn't a Schumacher in where he is enormously strong mentally. Nothing wrong with that, he's just different that way. The last 2 years undoubtly hurt his reputation, and where frustrating to watch, especially as a fan of his. Schumacher took all emotion out the moment he entered the race track, and in the car. He was a completely different person, or ''robot''. He'd ignore the drivers that are his friends, the guys he went on holiday with even, and be in the pub with them on Tuesdays. At the race track he was totally different, in the zone. Vettel is not that. Vettel takes his emotion with him to the track, and carries it with him in the car. Weaker mentally. But overcome with the right team around him. He had a friendlier atmosphere in Red Bull and he did extremely well there. If anyone remembers in 2009 and 2010 he made a lot of mistakes (arguably 2009 he could've won a title as well if he didn't make as many mistakes, at least mount a stronger challenge). The team didn't have a blame culture (And still don't evidence of that looking at Verstappen and how they managed him for the better), and it resulted in 4 consecutive titles. 2012 was a year where he had strong competition but because of the teams attitude it left him with stronger confidence to win the title.
I know 78 was the first year of the new Michelin deal and there was a big learning curve for the whole team. I know Michelin provided different compounds available to both drivers at the events, but am unaware of any favoritism with tires or compounds that may have applied. Mauro Forghieri said they realized they had a great raw talent in Gilles. They spent a lot of time that first winter honing his skills round Fiorano. I'm not knocking Gilles, just saying his initial results were not what would be considered great. I'm a firm believer that stats do NOT tell the whole story, good or bad. Not factoring in Gilles personality, bravado and integrity does him a great injustice. Anyways, this thread is about Leclerc, who I'm sure will want to write his own history, his own way.
It was not a matter of favourutisme twards carlos (who was in fact team leader), but while Carlos was tyhe man to fight for the championship, Gilles was the Guinea pig for Michelin, so in many races he was using a diferent compound from Carlos wich made him pit very early on many ocasions.
GO Charles!! Charles Leclerc says the step between Sauber and Ferrari is smaller than the one he had to undertake 12 months ago, when he joined Formula 1. - https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/21687 Leclerc last season graduated to Formula 1 with Sauber off the back of a title-winning Formula 2 campaign but struggled through the early phases of the campaign, before finding the form that convinced Ferrari to promote him for 2019. Leclerc carried out two days of running in Ferrari’s SF90 at Barcelona last week and reckons the step between teams was not as large as the one he faced in early 2018. “It’s a different position I am in because last year when I arrived in winter testing, I was coming from Formula 2, so the step was big,” he explained. “Now it’s from a Formula 1 car to another Formula 1 car, so obviously the step is smaller. “But I got used to it very quickly, so I already feel quite at ease with the car. “There are already a lot of things that I need to get at ease with, but already the feeling is very good. It’s a car that is quite easy to drive now.” Leclerc was also reluctant to discuss expectations for his first season in red, commenting: “I’m realistic, it’s only my second season in Formula 1. “I have a lot to learn, and there is a long road ahead. “But I can’t hide that I’m pushing to be as ready as possible for the first race, and if Mattia has the problem to manage two quick drivers, then it’s a good sign for me! “But for now I’m just focusing on myself, trying to improve every lap I am doing in the car. “It is a top team, and there are procedures that are quite different to the team I was in before. There is a bit of adaptation, but I will push to be as ready as possible for Australia.”
So the first test is over and one really good thing is for Leclerc, there has been no drama. He adapted to the team and car well, didn’t spin or crash it, has been right with Vettel’s time, and hasn’t said anything dumb or controversial. It’s a good sign
He's got a good "mature" head on his shoulders. -At launch of the SF90(live) his comments were very level headed. -then of course testing and he has Kimi's team. - he also made a reference the jump from F2 to F1 is really not that big; confident.
If he can be there or thereabouts with the better cars for the first three races, then we may see a real demonstration of his talent, if he can’t quite keep up there, then he needs more time but this season won’t be a true challenge for wins or titles short of Vettel crashing/breaking down
His mature personality has stood out to me as well. I'm guessing when faced with adversity he will rise to the occasion.
I think LeClerc is going to raises Vettel's game this year. With Kimi, he may have been too comfortable. He was friends with him and he knew Kimi wasn't quite fast enough to truly challenge him.
That's not what I recall at the time, or in what I've read since. Most commentators believe his head just wasn't in it anymore. He entered the final round of 81, the infamous Ceasars Palace parking lot race, with I think it was a one point lead over Piquet. He got pole, but I've seen many people say he seemed to just check out mentally in the race. All he had to do was finish ahead of Piquet to clinch the title. Instead of driving the race like a man on the verge of a championship he seemed out of his depth and finished out of the points. Piquet came home in 5th for 2 points and thus won the WDC. Into 1982 he quit after the first two rounds, ostensibly because of the Falklands conflict (Williams being a UK team and him being Argentinian) but most people seem to think that was just an excuse. He'd just lost the will to win. Not taking anything away from his ability or his results in the day, but I've never seen anything to indicate he was poorley treated by Williams. They won the 81 Championship with Jones. Come Ceasars Palace in 82 Jones was mathematically out of the Championship and Williams sure as hell wanted that 2nd WDC. They got it next year with Keke in the tragic year where we lost Gilles and Paltti. Pironi was permanently injured and Mass quit F1 after the massive French GP crash. While we lost drivers and had massive accidents after 1982, to me 82 was a turning point where car strength and safety seemed to improve a lot. 82 was a real low point for the sport, I've seen it (rather callously) described as the Championship no one wanted to win.
Leclerc's 2019 helmet. It's also his dad's birthday today. #JB17 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login family pics Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bahrain qualifying 2019. Congrats Charles. Now just bring it home tomorrow in 1st place. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date Image Unavailable, Please Login Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sooo Leclerc is the 99th DIFFERENT driver to sit on pole on the 999th F1 race. Gotto put that on the helmet livery somewhere bro!!
