Charles Leclerc started the Italian Grand Prix only in P4 due to a disappointing qualifying session. Despite his failure to register a quicker lap time during qualifying, he managed to go on and win the race, just like he did in Monaco earlier this year. However, just before the qualifying session, Charles jokingly put immense pressure on his brother, Arthur Leclerc, for the sim work.
Charles said, “If Arthur did a good job on the sim, maybe we’ll be even better.” In reply, Arthur asked, “It’s up to me?,” to which Charles confirmed, “Yeah, it’s up to you”.
charles: if arthur did a good job on the sim, maybe we’ll be even better
arthur: it’s up to me
charles: yeah, it’s up to youand leo licking arthur’s face pic.twitter.com/FvPM32muEp
— clara (@leclercsletters) October 9, 2024
However, since Charles had a disappointing qualifying session, he had to make up for it during the main race. And he did just that. The Monegasque overtook Mercedes’ George Russell off the line and got into P3.
On the same lap, Charles took advantage of the McLarens fighting in front of him for the lead. With Oscar Piastri overtaking McLaren teammate Lando Norris for the lead into the turn four and five chicane, it left the Briton vulnerable.
Charles sensed his opportunity and managed to overtake Norris to get into P2. However, since Piastri was too quick for him, Charles had to opt for a different strategy.
With the Australian opting for the safer two-stop strategy, Ferrari decided to put Charles on the ambitious one-stop. However, Charles managed his tires brilliantly and managed to keep Piastri behind him after gaining track position when McLaren pitted the Australian for a second time.
Charles still has an outside chance to win the 2024 Drivers’ title
Although Charles’ chances of winning the drivers’ title are slim, it is still mathematically possible for him to win. Max Verstappen currently leads the standings with 331 points.
Norris is currently in second and is 52 points behind the Dutchman. Meanwhile, Charles is 86 points behind Verstappen, with just six races remaining in the 2024 season.
Since Verstappen has a sizeable advantage over Charles, the Monegasque will not only need to score the maximum points possible in most of the race weekends to close the gap, but he will also require the Dutchman to score as few as possible. Similarly, Charles would also need Norris to drop as many points as possible.
