Charles Leclerc, Ferrari Junior driver | Page 20 | FerrariChat

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari Junior driver

Discussion in 'F1' started by Bas, May 14, 2017.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 9, 2005
    3,572
    Orlando
    Sounds like Chuck is going to take the fight to Max.
     
  2. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    I hope so. We need the new stars to take the sport forward!
     
  3. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    jcurry, Ferrari 308 GTB and G. Pepper like this.
  4. Remy Zero

    Remy Zero Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2005
    23,319
    KL, Malaysia
    Full Name:
    MC Cool Breeze
    Thats an amazing looking car.
     
  5. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

  6. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/feature/9518/the-sevenrace-streak-in-which-leclerc-usurped-vettel
    The seven-race streak in which Leclerc usurped Vettel

    The back to back wins at Spa and Monza moved Charles Leclerc ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the points and Ferrari fans' hearts, but the writing had been on the wall already

    Numbers don't lie, right? Charles Leclerc is now the lead Ferrari Formula 1 driver in the 2019 standings and is therefore the number one in the pecking order at the team, displacing Sebastian Vettel.

    The method is too simple, but the conclusion is accurate.

    Leclerc's back-to-back wins in Belgium and Italy helped him overhaul Vettel for fourth place in the drivers' standings, and his Monza success wrote him a place in Tifosi folklore. Both triumphs jarred with two poor weekends for Vettel. While Leclerc's season reached a new peak at Monza, Vettel'***** a new low.

    This clash of fortunes was no coincidence. It would have been impossible to specifically predict that Leclerc would win in feisty fashion in the same race that Vettel lost his head again, but Monza was largely in keeping with how their seasons have developed.

    Ex-Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn believes it is crucial for Ferrari's 2020 efforts that Vettel's confidence is rebuilt. But as Edd Straw eloquently argued, Vettel's Ferrari dream is effectively over. So, it is time to explore how Leclerc is taking advantage of that, and has proven he has ousted Vettel as the number one in the garage.

    The key piece of evidence for this is a wide sample set of races, specifically, the middle third of the F1 season. During that run of seven grands prix, from France to Italy, Leclerc's form was quite stunning: two wins, five podiums in total, three poles and 110 points. Remove Ferrari's qualifying failure in Germany, where Leclerc was poised to score another pole, and the numbers would be even more impressive.

    Lewis Hamilton (who else?) is the only driver who trumps Leclerc across those seven races, but only just. The championship leader has three wins, five podiums in total and two poles - amounting to 122 points.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Separating the championship into any arbitrary chunk can be largely useless (although still more relevant than our summer fun of reimagining the 2019 season from Ferrari's perspective). Context is key to making smaller fragments of a bigger championship picture relevant.

    So, what helps make this run of seven races relevant is that this appears to represent the turning point in Ferrari's season, internally at least. Leclerc and Vettel swapped roles during the first seven races, each more competitive at different times, with neither establishing a real edge - which was impressive, considering Leclerc was starting his second year in F1 and getting used to life at Ferrari.

    Since France, though, Leclerc has come into his own. He has outqualified Vettel seven races in a row now, has as many wins as Vettel has podiums in that seven-race run, and outscored him by 41 points. Forty-one. And that spell includes Leclerc's crash in Germany and Vettel's fortuitous second place at the same event.

    High-pressure moments are the making of Leclerc almost as much as they seem to be the undoing of Vettel
    A quick look at their average qualifying and finishing positions in this run completes the picture. Excluding Germany (both drivers were hit by reliability problems) and Austria for Vettel (he failed to take part in Q3 there), Leclerc is more than two grid positions better off over the past seven races. His average starting position is 2.17. Vettel's is 4.8...

    The races make a fractionally better picture for Vettel: Leclerc averages 4.43, Vettel 6.71. But Leclerc's is skewed massively by his crash in Germany. Eliminate that and his average finishing position rises to 2.33. Vettel's is only 3.6 if you exclude both his mistakes in Britain (where he shunted into the back of Max Verstappen) and Italy.

    Races like Hungary, where Vettel had superior tyre management and muscled past Leclerc late-on, showed that Vettel is far from a busted flush. But one would expect the reverse to be true this season: Vettel generally having the advantage and Leclerc ruffling feathers every now and then.

    What we've seen in the past seven races is Leclerc truly establishing himself as Ferrari's lead force. He has kickstarted serious momentum and sustained it over a significant sample set of races, through different circumstances.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    More importantly, he has thrived as the pressure has increased: earning a first F1 win with a five-time world champion rapidly approaching at Spa was a cakewalk compared to withstanding more than 40 laps of insane pressure at Monza, in front of a raucous crowd.

    Such high-pressure moments are the making of Leclerc almost as much as they seem to be the undoing of Vettel. That is a significant argument in Leclerc's favour in the context of predicting whether he could stomach a future title battle.

    It is worth noting how easily things could have changed. Leclerc ran off wide at a relatively pressure-free moment in Belgium, and let Hamilton launch an attack in Italy after a mistake into the chicane. When Vettel made a similar mistake while leading in Canada, even his post-race antics could not distract from the persecution he faced as a result of another error.

    But the simple and key difference is that Leclerc still won. Twice. When Vettel errs, he tends to wreck his race, or at least his victory chances. And Leclerc's errors have come under mounting pressure and stress, while most of Vettel's in the past 15 months have been unforced or during relatively typical battles. Even at their worst, Leclerc is better. And as the saying goes, you win titles on your bad days...
     
    jpalmito, jmillard308, VPX and 2 others like this.
  7. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Autosport + headline/opening - Not sure what Charles is “up against “ LoL. He is clearly faster!!!

    If Leclerc still trusts Vettel he'll never be champion
    The potent team-mate rivalry at Ferrari has been plain to see since the start of 2019, but has become ever more tense since Ferrari's turnaround in Formula 1 form. Charles Leclerc should now see exactly what he's up against
     
    lagunacc and william like this.
  8. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447

    Leclerc is up against intrigues by the team management that refuses to recognise his de facto Number One status.
     
    vinuneuro and lagunacc like this.
  9. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Race by race this is apparent
     
    william likes this.
  10. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447

    Ferrari has found a gem of a driver, but they seem to do their utmost to sabotage his effort.
    Really difficult to understand !!!

    Red Bull soon saw Verstappen's potential when he came to the team, and Ron Dennis didn't try to keep Hamilton on a leash when he landed at McLaren alongside a twice WDC. You have to nurture new talent
    Why can't Binotto realise Leclerc is Ferrari's future ?
     
  11. daytona355

    daytona355 F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Mar 25, 2009
    12,655
    London
    Full Name:
    Sid Korshak
    Because teams have to honour contracts or pay the consequences. McLaren paid a hilariously enormous cost in upsetting Alonso, they didn’t even mention how much they paid him to **** off for 2008 as well


    Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission
     
  12. daytona355

    daytona355 F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Mar 25, 2009
    12,655
    London
    Full Name:
    Sid Korshak
  13. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 4, 2006
    10,147
    opposite lock
    Full Name:
    Marc Sonnery
    DF1 likes this.
  14. BartonWorkman

    BartonWorkman F1 Veteran
    Sponsor

    Nov 3, 2003
    6,086
    En El 305
    Full Name:
    Barton Workman
    Ferrari had better learn from the mistakes Ron Dennis made when he brought Senna on to the
    McLaren team to drive alongside Prost.

    Dennis' approach may be used as a blueprint how not to manage a team and people.

    BHW
     
  15. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 4, 2006
    10,147
    opposite lock
    Full Name:
    Marc Sonnery
    Dennis single handedly created a very unpleasant cold antagonistic atmosphere in F1. I had a media pass at the San Marino GP twenty years ago and in the qualifying press conference between Schumi Hakkinen and Coulthard it was so cold so hostile I could not believe it, huge contrast to today where there is a great atmosphere between drivers (except when Magnussen acts up unapologetically).
     
    Jeronimo GTO, stavura and Igor Ound like this.
  16. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447

    At the same time, F1 followers like to watch the intense rivalry between team mates in a top team !
    It may be very destructive for a team to have 2 drivers fighting for the same title like gladiators in the arena, but it brings interest in racing.
    Titles have been lost that way, but the spectators enjoyed the Piquet-Mansell duel, the Prost-Senna battles, etc ... more recently Hamilton-Rosberg.
    Kudos to Ron Dennis and Frank Williams for letting that happen.
     
  17. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447
    DF1 likes this.
  18. Sig. Roma

    Sig. Roma Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 11, 2007
    1,061
    Bella Italia
    Full Name:
    Dom T.
    May have been the contract Ferrari has with Vettel.
     
  19. Giancarlo Fiorentino

    Nov 8, 2019
    1
    Full Name:
    Giancarlo Fiorentino
    Do you guys think Leclerc can carry ferrari without Vettel?
     
  20. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    yes his maturity is no longer in doubt with the experience of this year
     
    G. Pepper, jcurry and william like this.
  21. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447

    Yes, there is that possibility.
     
    DF1 likes this.

Share This Page