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Charles Leclerc recently admitted that he is not surprised by Mercedes' struggles this season, emphasizing that every team's domination will eventually come to an end. The Silver Arrows have taken consecutive constructors' championship trophies over the last eight seasons, and this year, they seem to be struggling to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull, who are simply a class apart from the rest of the grid.
Leclerc, however, revealed that he would not "write off" Mercedes this early on in the 2022 season, given the significant improvements they have already made since the season opener in Bahrain. The Ferrari driver said:
“I think that at some point every team will stop winning. It’s always strange when such a dominant team is in trouble at the beginning of a season. I wouldn’t write them off for a long time because I know what a strong team they are. What they have achieved in the past was no coincidence. It’s the result of when the right people work together. Yes, they had a difficult start to the season but I have no doubt that they will be back very soon. They took a first step forward in Barcelona and I hope they will be back soon and will compete with us for victories. It would be exciting for Formula 1 to see three teams battle it out.”
Meanwhile, George Russell has essentially been carrying Mercedes on his shoulders, having consistently managed a top-5 result in every race of the season so far. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, however, still seems to be struggling with his 2022 challenger.
Ferrari boss compares Charles Leclerc to team's legendary former F1 driver
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto recently compared Charles Leclerc to six-time Grand Prix winner, the late Gilles Villeneuve, emphasizing that the Monegasque represents "essere Ferrari", which translates to "being Ferrari". He claimed that Leclerc embodies Ferrari just as the legendary Canadian driver once did.
As reported by PlanetF1, Binotto said:
“I look at Charles [Leclerc], his driving, his talent but more than that, the passion… the passion the fans have for him. It is something that I call essere Ferrari, being Ferrari is trying to enhance the might of the Cavallino. There are only a few drivers who are capable of doing that and I think Charles is one of these, as was Gilles [Villeneuve]. Gilles was fantastic with that, Gilles only won six races. It really was his way of driving, his way of behaving, the passion, and I think Charles has got that. He has got that and that is something that is great, we are passionate ourselves and we hope he will win more than six races.”
Charles Leclerc currently stands second in the drivers' standings with a nine-point difference to Max Verstappen.
