Given the unpredictable nature of the sport, it would be wrong to suggest that the Formula 1 drivers’ title race for this year is all but over. There may be over 100 points separating Max Verstappen from Charles Leclerc after the Dutchman’s victory in Zandvoort, but Ferrari still has a super-fast car at their disposal and the Monegasque driver remains an outstanding talent.
Indeed, you wonder what might have been had his F1-75 not blown out in Spain and Azerbaijan, and if the Scuderia have managed to find a fix to their tactical blunders during the summer break, there’s no reason why they – and specifically Leclerc – cannot improve heading into the business end of the campaign.
It would still take an incredibly optimistic individual to suggest that the 24-year-old can haul in the reigning champion, and the F1 betting odds that give Leclerc a 12/1 chance to reel in Verstappen reveal an implied probability of just 7.7% to pull it off. The Dutchman, on the other hand, is priced at 1/8 – which means the bookmakers give him a probability of 88.9% of retaining his title. Those numbers speak volumes…
But Leclerc and Ferrari won’t be giving up just yet, and here are three good reasons why.
History Repeats Itself
It’s unusual, but not uncommon, for a driver to dominate the field after the summer break.
Although Sebastian Vettel never won the Drivers’ Championship while at Ferrari, he was a four-time title winner with Red Bull – the last of those, in 2013, coming in the most remarkable of circumstances.
The German won all nine races after the summer break that season, claiming six poles in that span to completely assert his dominance in a record-breaking campaign.
Incidentally, Fernando Alonso was pushing Vettel all the way, heading into the recess which shows the importance of an effective summer break. Only time will tell if Ferrari have enjoyed a hiatus as productive as that of Red Bull nearly a decade ago…
Need for Speed
Although the fact alone isn’t enough to gift wrap the title for Leclerc, it’s still worth remembering that Ferrari have the fastest car in Formula 1 right now.
That’s backed up because their star driver has racked up seven pole positions so far this term – Verstappen, by contrast, has just two, and if the Scuderia can bring their strategic A-game on race day to go with Leclerc’s out-and-out pace, there’s no reason he doesn’t have the tools to overhaul the defending champion.
Unhappy Hunting Ground
There’s a little patch of the schedule coming up where Ferrari could gain something of an advantage.
Verstappen is yet to win at Monza, but Leclerc has back in 2019 and the Italian Grand Prix is one where the Scuderia, for obvious reasons, have extra motivation for performing well.
The Red Bull ace is also without a win at Marina Bay in Singapore and Suzuka in Japan, so there is clearly a chance for Leclerc to strike at tracks where Verstappen doesn’t have the benefit of a positive experience.
It’s a long shot, admittedly, but Leclerc and Ferrari won’t be giving up on claiming the 2022 Formula 1 drivers’ championship title just yet…
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