I never felt that Damon Hill was a number one driver either, but being in the right place at the right time . . .
The car failed Alesi dismally, not the other way around. Charles has an intelligence and mental toughness that few possess. He wasn't intimidated by his 4 time WDC teammate.
Yes, Leclerc asserted himself very nicely in the team, and that was impressive in itself. Maybe the wind has changed at Maranello?
+1 his mental strength is beyond Vettel's. Without doubt. Very impressive. Sainz is facing a tough seat!
Maybe not, but he rose to the occasion in spectacular fashion. From being #2 he stepped up to the #1 spot and helped pull the team together after Senna's death. He really should be a two times WDC if a certain other driver who is revered around here, but I have no time for, wasn't in an illegal car, or (detestably) drive Hill off the road to win at the end. One of the many reasons I find it hard to feel too bad about Williams as a team now down to how Frank treated him after he won the WDC, and Mansell and Prost before him.
Whichever way you slice the cake, he failed and so did SF at that time. Lets see if CL can throw off the being the apprentice and step up to become the master. Whole new ballgame.
The talent is there, it's obvious. But if Ferrari don't give him a good car, it will be wasted. I hope Leclerc won't wait too long to move on if that's the case.
Should have been 3-4 wins easily for Charles and more points robbed by the car(Bahrain) or team due to 'orders' + all the pole's attained. He out-performed Vettel quite nicely.
Where do you get 4 wins from out of interest? I count 3, with Bahrain added to his tally of 2. That was a dominant display. Vettel had 2 and should also have had 3. I count Canada as a win (discussed till end of time already), Russia was his also. I'll never buy it that this should be Leclerc's. Vettel had a better start, Vettel had stronger pace...Leclerc can moan all he like on the radio, but racing really doesn't work the way he thinks it does, why bother with the race if only qualifying should count?
I think SIngapore was a 'strategy' call to assist Vettel. I remember that Charles was looking good for a win???
Ferrari had to pit Vettel because Verstappen attempted the undercut on Vettel. Vettel had an amazing in and outlap as well, much faster than Leclerc managed. Leclerc spend the rest of the race moaning that life wasn't fair. Forgetting that in Hungary, Vettel undercut him, and Vettel let him by. Forgetting, that in Spa, Vettel helped Charles enormously by holding up Hamilton. Had Vettel not done that, Leclerc wouldn't have won Spa. Leclerc broke protocol by not giving Vettel a tow (like Vettel himself DID do as discussed before quali, for Leclerc's Q3 run), resulting in Leclerc keeping his provisional pole as he took far too long to get ahead of Vettel to give him the tow. So for Leclerc to moan that life isn't fair and the team are against him, is a bit of a stretch. Fact of the matter is if it wasn't for Vettel assisting, Leclerc's tally could be on ZERO for the season. Leclerc seems to have in his mind that races are won on Saturday. This isn't F2 anymore, where that is possible.
One season as Vettel's understudy doesnt make him a world champion in the making. I hope the kid makes it but his petulant whingeing last year was that of a brat.
Interesting words from Binotto on all the driver moves/status in Ferrari. Hints of why Vettel is leaving , the future! https://www.planetf1.com/news/mattia-binotto-carlos-sainz-world-champion/
Winning with Ferrari requires years of development and self-discipline. Very few drivers have such patience. Or you can just catch the end of a crest like Kimi
Were you referring to Vettel in Montreal at the end. That would be a good definition of 'petulant' LOL
Lots of examples of SV being bad tempered, he does suffer with the red mist but i guess as he is 4 times WDC so he can display a little bit of frustration when things dont go right. CL has much to prove in a big team. I have my doubts he can take the weight of the team as Binotto and Co dont see likely to shoulder much of the burden. For the SF team i hope th kid does the job with Sainz as a strong no 2 and picking up wins if CL / the car fails. Best tony
LEC has what it takes, Ferrari just need to give him the car. HAM, VER and LEC are three amazing talents.
Agree. His whinging was a huge turn off for me. Overtaken by Vettel in singapore? Whinge. Overtaken by Vettel (at the start!) in Russia, whinge all race long. Overtaken by Verstappen? Sulk. Plenty more instances of him whinging and sulking over the season. He remained dead quiet about the situations however when Vettel helped him out... The only correct reason Sainz was hired was it's someone Ferrari feel they can control if and when they build a decent car to challenge for the title. Obviously Leclerc is very talented and Ferrari have enough data they feel confident he is as fast as Vettel is. Fast is of course only one part of it.
Pretty sure Vettel is the driver on the grid who best understands how a car works and no coincidence his and Kimi’s feedback resulted in the most competitive Ferraris in years. With Leclerc and Sainz instead we’ll have one of the least technically knowledgeable duo out there. This worries me a lot
What information shows this data about Sainz and Charles as not technically capable. I do not see anything about Vettel stating he has the technical mind that is exceptional. Nico Rosberg was genuinely technically adept as Williams own technical tests on him showed. Vettel is lacking in flexibility as is Kimi in driving well with a car that is outside of their driving styles. That is quite obvious. Ask Ricci and Red Bull. Neither Kimi nor Vettel ever took a car and gained more out of it than it should have given. FA is the absolute leader in that category. Not Kimi or Vettel. They seem to have small operational windows.
