Charles Leclerc secured a P3 in the 2022 Dutch GP but it wouldn’t help his championship fight as Verstappen claims the 10th victory of the season.
Charles Leclerc finally managed to grab a podium after a rough patch mid-season. Leclerc had managed to claim only 1 podium finish since the inaugural Miami Grand Prix in May.
And this was in Austria when Leclerc and Ferrari denied Max Verstappen and Red Bull a victory on home track. But sadly, the Monegasque has had a really poor run of results.
Leclerc was leading the Championship standings until Miami GP. A string of bad strategy calls, reliability issues and driver errors cost Ferrari a chance to claim their first driver’s championship win since 2007. And their first constructor’s title since 2008.
Leclerc showed great pace and was narrowly beaten by Max Verstappen for Pole position by a 0.02s margin. But the Ferrari was nowhere close to Max who claimed his 10th win of the season on home soil.
Verstappen has an unassailable 109 point lead in the Championship. The Dutchman can chose to race in the next 4 races and he will still be the Championship leader. But this seems unlikely!
Leclerc knows mathematically the chances of him winning the title in Abu Dhabi are slim to none. But he hasn’t lost all hopes and just wants to approach one race at a time.
Leclerc said, “Am I happy about the podium? I mean, I’m going to smile, because I’ve had a series of unlucky races where I couldn’t even get a podium. But I want to win.”
He adds, “I will never say goodbye to the championship. But mathematically I know it will be hard so I’ll take one race at a time!”
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Charles Leclerc hopeful of Monza miracle
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari will be returning to the Monza autodrome next week for the 16th round of the championship. This will be a special homecoming for the ‘Tifosi’ who will be prepared to see their team win.
The last time Ferrari won a race in Monza was when Leclerc claimed the beautiful victory in 2019. The race and his win have a special place in every Ferrari-faithful’s heart.
Fans will be hoping for a win in Monza and so will Leclerc. But the Monegasque knows a hungry Verstappen and Red Bull will be difficult to beat in the ‘temple of speed.’
Leclerc said, “On paper, Monza is not positive for us. But I will try to change the paper and winning at home would be beautiful.” Verstappen funnily has never won in Monza!
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