Charles Leclerc is having a harder time this season than anyone expected. The Monegasque beat Sebastian Vettel in his first season at Ferrari and did the same in 2020. With the departure of the four-time world champion, the role of front runner seemed to win for Leclerc, but he is fighting more than expected with Carlos Sainz. Why is Leclerc having such a difficult year?
The duel at Ferrari
The best measure for a Formula 1 driver is his teammate. Since every car in Formula 1 is different, it is very difficult to compare drivers with one another. That is only possible if they are on the same team, because then the cars are pretty much the same. Last week at GPblog we have already listed the dates of all teams, of which the duel with Ferrari was the most striking. For the sake of completeness, we have listed the dates of this duel below:
Driver: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
Race duel: 7-5
Points: 104-112.5
Qualification duel: 10-5
Average qualification difference: 0.110s in favor of Leclerc
If you look at Saturday, it doesn’t seem like much is going on there. On Saturday, Leclerc won ten of the fifteen qualifying sessions. He also knows how to make a nice difference on average. On average, the two are 0.110 seconds apart, in Leclerc’s favor. Not a big difference like in Leclerc 2020 against Vettel (0.487s), but still a good lead.
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Sainz takes a step on Saturday
However, it’s not the margin that you could expect upfront. Leclerc is a recognized qualifying beast. He was able to impress with his fast laps in qualifying, where he can learn a lot about the Racecraft on Sunday. With Sainz, who moves to Ferrari, Leclerc should have created a bigger gap.
Sainz is not a driver who relies on his Saturday. The Spaniard is a solid racing driver who will make the difference on Sunday with his consistency. The fact that he can stay so close to Leclerc on Saturdays in his first year at Ferrari is therefore worrying. Especially when you consider that Lando Norris won the Spaniard’s qualifying duel in his debut year in Formula 1 and was too fast for him on Saturday 2020.
Nevertheless, Leclerc manages to win this duel, so that based on this data it is not yet necessary to press the alarm button. However, this is the case if you look at Sunday’s data. In the race duel, Leclerc is just ahead of the Spaniard and in points Sainz is even ahead. Not many people expected that.
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The biggest challenge for Leclerc
For Leclerc, this could be his biggest challenge in Formula 1 so far. That may sound crazy after beating a four-time world champion in his first two years at Ferrari, but Lance Stroll can also stay close to Vettel. So one can wonder how good Vettel has really been at Ferrari over the past two years?
Vettel is not the type of driver who can make it difficult for Leclerc. Vettel is not a driver who is known for his consistency. He was always fast over a single lap and had great races from the front, but he was more likely to get into trouble under pressure and in duels. Leclerc is younger, more talented and even faster over a lap, so Vettel’s strength is quickly eroded.
Persistence is difficult for young talents. Max Verstappen struggled with Daniel Ricciardo in his first two years at Red Bull Racing, not necessarily because the Australian was so much faster, but more because his experience helped him put the results together. For this, too, Verstappen had to gain experience. He finally succeeded in doing this in 2018, whereupon Ricciardo felt the pinch and left.
The character of a racing driver
Sainz is a remarkable challenge for Leclerc in this regard. Sainz doesn’t have much more experience in Formula 1, nor a great résumé, but Sainz’s driving skills make him a great challenge for Leclerc. Sainz has shown since his first races that he rarely makes big mistakes and will therefore always score points for his team in the overall standings.
That is the problem that Leclerc is facing right now. It is clear to everyone that Leclerc has more talent and speed than Sainz. Leclerc impressed with a great qualifying in Belgium in the rain and drove to a great second place in the British Grand Prix. There are too many ups and downs in Monegasken’s performance, however.
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However, this year will help the Monegasques grow further. He has already shown in several seasons that he has the speed to keep up with the top. If he can face Sainz’s challenge and win, he will be able to lead Ferrari to the world title with the right equipment.
For the time being, Leclerc has to look out of the shadows of his contemporaries. George Russell and Lando Norris are currently stealing the show, but it’s also true of Russell that he hasn’t had a consistent opponent yet. He, too, will have to deal with such learning curves at Mercedes.
We have an interesting selection of talent in Verstappen, Norris, Russell and Leclerc. Verstappen is already further than the others in his title fight and development, but it will be interesting to see how these other guys develop. We saw how fast it can go at Verstappen, so who knows these other guys might have a chance for a title soon too.
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The post Is it worrying that “Ferrari leader” Leclerc can only compete with Sainz? first appeared on monter-une-startup.
