LeClerc: 2022 Champion?
Charles LeClerc has had a dream start to the 2022 season, leading the Championship. Out of the three race he has won two of them and came second in the Saudi Arabian GP. He is miles ahead of P2 George Russell who frankly is not even in contention for the Driver’s Championship, given the current state of his Mercedes car.
LeClerc’s main rivals are the Red Bull drivers – Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Also we cannot discount his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz.
RedBull : Worthy contender for Championship
The defending World Champion Max Verstappen is in good form but his car is not holding up. He did win the Saudi Arabian GP but two DNFs in other raises serious concerns about reliability. He is currently sixth in the championship. The RedBull does look like a Championship contender and if they are fix the reliability issues then Max can certainly give a strong fight to LeClerc.
The other RedBull driver Sergio Perez looks more settled in his second year with the Milton Keyes team. He took the Pole position in Saudi Arabia and got a podium in Australia. But he is still very much the number 2 driver to Max and will have to prove a lot for Redbull to change the priority.
Mercedes: Long shot but cannot discount them
Mercedes has had a fantastic record in the turbo-hybrid era since 2014, winning all the Constructor’s bar none. They had the best car and the best driver in Lewis Hamilton. That, however, is not the case with the 2022 car. Porpoising had affected them badly and there is no clear solution in the short term. They are a distant third to the RedBulls and the Ferrari but ahead of the mid-field.
But there is one team that you can expect to bounce back is the Mercedes. They have the resources, the experience and the technical know-how to be at the top. Time and again they have fallen back but with sheer talent and grit they have managed to come back stronger. In Lewis and George they have a strong driver lineup who lead the team if given a good car. So one cannot count them out yet.
Sainz : Tough competition to LeClerc for Championship
One big threat to LeClerc would be his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz. Sainz jelled amazingly well with the Maranello team last year. He doesn’t have the raw pace of LeClerc but still managed to score more points than his team-mate. Australia was just unlucky for him where his Q3 quali as well as the race got messed up. He will be looking to come back strongly and give a tough fight to LeClerc and win the Championship.
LeClerc in 2022 seems much more mature. In 2019 Ferrari had a good car but LeClerc made many unforced errors. The next two years were tough for the red-team but a blessing in disguise for LeClerc. He could stay away from the lime-light and mentally prepare to be in a top team. In 2022 he has a car which can win him a championship and he has not put a foot wrong.
2022 is a long season and we are only done with 3 races. So the field is wide open but currently LeClerc is way ahead in the championship.