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Charles Leclerc appears to have rung the death knell for Mercedes' world championship charge after four rounds of the 2022 F1 season.
The Silver Arrows have been struggling for pace and grip while also trying to tackle their extreme porpoising issues. This has seen them fall behind in the race to the top against the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull.
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In an interview with CNN ahead of the 2022 F1 Miami GP, Charles Leclerc predicted a title race without Mercedes as the dominant force it has been. He said:
“I never write them off because they are such a strong team and they have showed it in the past. But it is also true that they are struggling since the beginning of the season and they seem to have quite big issues that will require a bit of time before they fix them. So I don‘t know. Maybe not for the championship this year, but I am pretty sure they will win races at some time in the season.”
Leclerc feels the battle for the constructors' championship will come down to Ferrari and Red Bull. As for the World Drivers' Championship, Leclerc feels the battle is not just between himself and Max Verstappen. He went on to add, saying
“Checo [Sergio Perez] is extremely close. Carlos [Sainz] has been a bit unlucky and maybe now he is getting there too. But I think it will be between us four.”
“It’s great to have these two fighting for a championship" - Jenson Button on Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen's rivalry in 2022
Former F1 world champion Jenson Buton is thrilled to see Charles Leclerc take the fight to Max Verstappen in the battle for the 2022 F1 world championship.
The pair have already provided some scintillating racing in the first four rounds of the season with the promise of more intense wheel-to-wheel action to come in the races to follow.
In an interview with Total-Motorsport, the Briton went on to laud Charles Leclerc by saying:
“It’s great to have these two fighting for a championship. They’ve known each other for years, they raced against each other in karting and had lots of incidents together then. I think Charles [Leclerc] understands Max [Verstappen], a lot more than maybe Lewis [Hamilton] did.”
Leclerc leads the championship standings with 86 points, followed by Verstappen in P2 with 59 points, and will hope to stretch that lead even further at the 2022 F1 Miami GP.
