"Mister allergic to 1st place" - Fans dismiss stat highlighting Charles Leclerc’s 2024 consistency 

The fifth Grand Prix weekend is done and dusted, with Max Verstappen reigning supreme in Shanghai, whereas, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz finished P4 and P5, respectively. The Chinese GP marked its resurrection after five years, since last flagging off in 2019.

The Prancing Horse have clinched one of the five races this season, the Australian Grand Prix, which was won by Sainz, with Leclerc finishing second. However, zero wins recorded by the Monegasque this season has attracted backlash from fans on social media who disregarded his consistency.

Since the season-opening Bahrain GP, Charles Leclerc has consistently tamed his SF24 under the top 4 across all his stints. Nevertheless, the stat not only failed to impress fans but also received scrutiny for the 5x race winner's inability to grab even a single victory until now this season.

Here is a look at Charles Leclerc's 2024 stat (via F1 on X):

One fan on X took a jibe at Leclerc for having a winless 2023 and 2024 until now, commenting:

"Mister allergic to 1st place"

Another fan highlighted that Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg has also shown consistency in the VF24 by claiming three points finish from five runs, but it's all about winning. The fan wrote:

"So is Nico Hulkenberg, BUT its only winning that counts."

Another fan claimed that P4 is not a great spot for a dominant driver like Charles Leclerc and wrote:

"Let’s move up from P4! P4 is not good enough for @Charles_Leclerc!"

One fan was apparently caught off guard by seeing a stat showing something apart from the podium finishes and commented:

"Top four is now a thing?"

On the flip side, a few fans portrayed confidence in the SF24 driver's present and future, and wrote:

"Leclerc is on fire 🔥 and he still can do better"

"Charles Consistency 💪," added another fan.

Carlos Sainz opens up on his opening-lap fight with Charles Leclerc that "didn’t help either of" them

The Scuderia Ferraris started their run at Chinese GP with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in P6 and P7, respectively. The moment the lights went off, the 20 cars dashed towards Turn 1 and Fernando Alonso bravely used the outside line to overtake Sergio Perez in P2.

However, as the Ferrari duo chased McLaren's MCL38s, Sainz tried to use the same line as Alonso's to get past his teammate, but Leclerc didn't let that happen with his block, forcefully pushing the Spaniard wide. Though the maneuver appeared costly for Sainz, according to the 2024 Australian Grand Prix winner, the opening-lap tussle cost both drivers track positions, ultimately resulting in a P4 and P5 finish.

Reflecting on his Chinese GP run first-lap battle with Charles Leclerc, the #55 SF24 driver opened up in a media conference, including Sportskeeda, and said:

"I’d prefer not to comment, but it’s obviously quite clear that it cost us both positions. So yeah, it didn’t help either of us.

"I think, given what our pace was today, I think better than P5 was impossible. Also, we had a very poor start with a situation there in Turns 1 and 2 that cost both cars two positions," added Sainz.