With two recent F1 wins under his belt, Charles Leclerc is turning heads and winning hearts.
Formula One returned from its mid-season summer break, and Charles Leclerc quickly delivered two consecutive victories. With those wins, Leclerc also displayed a newfound toughness.
His victory at Spa was tragically overshadowed by the death of his friend, Anthoine Hubert, in a Formula 2 race. Leclerc dedicated his win in Hubert’s memory. Then, just one week later, the Ferrari team participated in its most important competition of the year–‘a home game’ at Monza.
It was there that Leclerc revealed his new side.
The charming, young, fresh-faced personality who said and did the right things was enhanced by what might best be described as ‘the devil in young Charlie.’
The first sign of a metamorphosis came during qualifying and the shambolic scenes that became the top 10 pole position shootout. What happened?
The layout of the Monza circuit means that any car could complete a lap significantly quicker when it benefited from what’s called a ‘tow’ (off the car in front). Every driver wanted to benefit from being ‘towed,’ and that also meant that no driver wanted to be the lead car on the final qualifying lap.
Drivers are trying to take advantage of ‘the tow.” (photo, Essentially Sports)
As a result, on the warm-up lap, all nine drivers (Kimi Raikkonen had earlier crashed, so he was no longer part of the action at this stage) tried every trick in the book to avoid being the lead car. So only Carlos Sainz made it across the line in time to complete a final qualifying lap.
What wasn’t known then, but is known now, is Charles Leclerc role in this qualifying chaos. Ferrari and their drivers had a prior agreement. On the first qualifying run, Vettel would be in front of Leclerc so that Charles would benefit from ‘the ‘tow.’ And that’s what happened. Leclerc gained provisional pole position.
On the second qualifying run, Leclerc was supposed to be in front of Vettel so that Sebastian would benefit similarly. But that didn’t happen. When it came to the final run, Leclerc decided he wouldn’t play ‘the team game’ and didn’t position his car in front of Vettel’s. As a result (when combined with other drivers’ actions) neither Ferrari driver got to complete a final qualifying lap. That result? Leclerc won the pole position for Sunday’s race.
The scene last week reminded many of the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso failed to adhere to agreements in qualifying. Alonso refused to leave his pit box to allow Hamilton to get fresh tyres. Consequently, the Briton didn’t complete his final qualifying lap and attempt at pole position.
In Italy, at issue is why Leclerc didn’t comply as Vettel had. Leclerc may be attempting to put a stamp of authority over Vettel at Ferrari. At the very least, he’s showing the team and the world that he has a mean streak and ‘a win at all costs’ attitude that few believed he possessed.
But Leclerc wasn’t finished exhibiting his newly found resolve. During Sunday’s race, he showed a tough side during wheel-to-wheel racing.
While in the lead, Leclerc faced significant pressure from a chasing Lewis Hamilton and his faster Mercedes. To respond, Leclerc used the full width of the race track–and then some–as he forced Hamilton onto the grass at one stage. He also pushed the limits of the racing rule book to prevent Hamilton from taking the lead.
For his efforts, Leclerc was shown a black-and-white warning flag. It came from the incident where Leclerc forced Hamilton off track during an attempted over-taking move. Following a mistake later in the race–where he locked his front tyres–Leclerc then cut the turn one chicane to maintain the lead of the race. Again, that could have resulted in a penalty but went unpunished–despite Leclerc already being on a warning from the earlier black and white flag.
Leclerc ultimately won the Italian Grand Prix to his delight and mass acclaim of the Tifosi. Leclerc was undoubtedly a worthy winner. But the storyline of this race is that he showed unexpected grit and determination. The only question now is how things will play out the rest of the 2019 season.
Any doubts that Charles is just ‘a nice guy’ who says all the right things can be put to rest.
Courtesy: BFN MY
