Formula 1: Italian racer and 2022 MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia spoke about the prowess of Ferrari star Charles Leclerc. Bagnaia, who is a proud part of Tifosi, looked in awe of the young Monegasque. The relentless and strong-headed driver is regarded as one of the most talented drivers to have touched the wheel, even by greats like Vettel. However, he is not performing at the heights of his powers for quite a while now. Follow Formula 1 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
The performance of Ferrari in 2023 so far has been disappointing for the Italian team fans. Leclerc, who looked like a viable competitor to Max for a good part of last season, is having outrageous outings this season so far. Just in a span of 5 races, Leclerc stands with a mammoth deficit of 86 points to championship leader Max Verstappen. Reliability issues and crashes has been his story this season. Let alone the dream of dethroning Verstappen, his struggles are apparent with 2 DNFs and two P7 finishes to his name already.
Everything considered, the Maranello team fans are still rooting for the Monegasque driver. One amongst them is Bagnaia himself, the Ducati rider who tasted championship win last year.
Charles Leclerc is at the level of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton
There is no doubting the fact that Leclerc is one of the most sought-after talents on the grid. He is a former F2 and F3 champion and getting a Ferrari contract this early talks enough about a driver’s prowess. However, even he could not fulfill Ferrari’s delayed dream of winning a championship since he did in 2007. After the 2022 debacle, Ferrari decided to go ahead with a new management as they brought in Frederic Vasseur to replace Mattia Binotto.
However, the change in team boss did not result in a change in fortune. Even though the situation has been abysmal so far for the Men from Maranello, their fans have proved to be loyal and appreciative of the team and drivers. A huge boost in this direction are comments of Italian champion Francesco Bagnaia.
“It is certainly a very difficult time for him because in my opinion, Leclerc is at the level of Verstappen and Hamilton. I identified myself with him, he is extremely strong, capable, he will always give 100% with what he has, for me, he is a champion, he knows that Ferrari is trying to give him the maximum,” said the Italian racer.
Though not right now, but the numbers might turn into Leclerc’s favor. A long season is still ahead, with many teams planning to introduce further upgrades. Will there be a change in fortune for the Maranello team? Tell us your predictions for Ferrari this season in the comments below.
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