Hall-of-fame F1 journalist reminds everyone not to get carried away with early dominance from Ferrari in 2022

Ferrari has gotten off to a nearly perfect start to the 2022 F1 season, with 2 wins and 2 pole positions in 3 races. Leclerc enjoys a healthy advantage in the championship over both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, with Lewis trailing Charles by 43 points and Max trailing the Ferrari driver by 46 points.

Having said that, veteran F1 journalist David Tremayne does not believe Ferrari can rest on its laurels. He pointed out, in his latest column on F1.com, the scenario of the 1973 championship where Emerson Fittipaldi lost out to Jackie Stewart after a commanding start to the season.

"Remember how well Emerson Fittipaldi started 1973 with three wins, a second and two thirds in the first six races, only to lose out eventually to Jackie Stewart as the season progressed?"

He continued,

"I mention that year particularly because Emmo’s campaign was compromised by having a very fast team mate – Super Swede Ronnie Peterson – who also won races for Team Lotus, whereas Jackie was the undisputed team leader at Tyrrell and team mate Francois Cevert, though often as fast, was happy to play second fiddle in the belief that his own time would come."

David also pointed out that this year, the only driver to have the luxury of a subservient teammate is Max Verstappen, as both the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers are free to fight against each other in the championship.

"This year, the only driver in the top three teams that I see willingly doing that is Sergio Perez. That’s one advantage that Max Verstappen carries, as Mercedes will allow Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to race one another as will Ferrari with Charles and Carlos Sainz (at least up to a point, as a title is so crucial to them)."

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Ferrari's start mirrors Sebastian Vettel's 2017 championship campaign

Charles Leclerc has picked up two wins and a second position at the start of the season. Although impressive, it's not as if the Italian team has not been here before in recent years. The Italian team had a similar start to the season in 2017 when Sebastian Vettel had two wins and a second position to his name in the first three races of the season.

The German had put up a brave fight against Hamilton that season only to lose out in the second half when Mercedes pulled away from the Italian outfit. For now, Charles Leclerc has not put a foot wrong and the team will be hoping it can maintain this level of performance throughout the 23-race season.