Charles Leclerc wants to give his best to make sure Max Verstappen does not kickstart his own era of dominance in F1.
Verstappen secured his second World Title two weeks ago after winning the Japanese GP. That was his 12th win of a season in which he completely dominated and fans are wondering if we are witnessing the start of a new era.
The 25-year-old’s 2021 season excited fans because he was on course to breaking Lewis Hamilton’s era of dominance in the sport. It was a closely contested fight and Verstappen only won the Championship last season on the final lap of the season finale.
This season, however, has been a completely different story. Verstappen went off to a slow start this year with two retirements in the first three races. Since then, he has completely dominated and has a total of 13 race wins now (same as Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s record-breaking season).
Fans are now worried whether we are seeing the start of another era, one dominated by the Dutch driver.
Charles Leclerc is adamant that Ferrari are working hard to defeat Verstappen
The closest car to Red Bull this year in terms of performance was Ferrari. In fact, the Maranello-based outfit had the upper hand in the opening stages of the season. However, mistakes made by their strategists and poor reliability saw them give up a lot of points.
Now that Verstappen and Red Bull have both secured their Title wins, Ferrari’s full focus is on the 2023 season. The Italian team are working hard to make sure Verstappen does not start his own era of dominance.
“We are working as a team for it not to happen,” he said after the US Grand Prix. “It is very clear to us what we need to improve. “We are trying to use the last few races in the best way possible, in order to challenge Max and Red Bull for the championship next year. I am confident we can do that.”
Also read: Helmut Marko jokes Red Bull wanted to make USGP interesting with Max Verstappen’s poor pit stop
Max Verstappen to follow Lewis Hamilton’s footsteps?
Before Verstappen became Champion in 2021, Mercedes and Hamilton dominated F1 for seven years! Even Verstappen’s Title win could not help Red Bull secure the Constructors’ Title, which fell in Mercedes’ over.
The Silver Arrows created one of the most dominant eras in the sport’s history which is commendable. However, from the fans’ perspective, it became quite boring when every single race had just one winner.
Verstappen’s dominance in 2022 has worried fans about the same thing happening again. If the Dutch driver wins the remaining three races this year, he’ll end the campaign with 16 wins which will make his season more one sided than Schumacher’s
