Formula 1: Will Charles Leclerc make Ferrari great again?

Does Charles Leclerc have what it take to make Ferrari great again? He is set to make his debut for the Prancing Horse in the 2019 Formula 1 season opener.

When Charles Leclerc drives for Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1 for the first time in the 2019 season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia this Sunday, March 10, he will be fulfilling a lifelong dream.

The 21-year-old Monegasque, who competed in Formula 1 as a rookie in the 2018 season driving for Alfa Romeo Sauber (now Alfa Romeo Racing), was in the middle of what became his championship-winning rookie Formula 2 season in 2017 driving for Prema Racing when his father, Herve, passed away following a slow deterioration of his health.

Herve Leclerc passed away on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. But before he passed away, Charles told him something about his Formula 1 career that was not true. He told him that he had signed with a Formula 1 team for the 2018 season, but in reality, he had not yet done so at that point.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to the BBC.

"“It was a bit earlier than I had really signed, but in the end I didn’t lie because I am here and now in Ferrari, which feels incredible.”"

Leclerc also stated that the goal his father had for him was “to be in F1 and to be world champion.” Here is what Leclerc had to say about the matter, according to the BBC.

"“I haven’t done that yet but I will work to realize his dream.”"

Leclerc ended up signing with Sauber for the 2018 season in December, and after being rumored as a potential replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in the 2019 season since even before the 2017 season ended and well before he landed his ride with Sauber for the 2018 season, he signed with the Maranello-based team to drive for them beginning this year.

After several months worth of rumors throughout the majority of the 2018 season, Ferrari confirmed in September that they would be moving on from Raikkonen and that they would replace him with Leclerc beginning in the 2019 season on a deal that was later confirmed to be for at least the next four seasons.

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Sebastian Vettel, the team’s other driver, began driving for them in the 2015 season, and in the 2017 season, he signed a three-year contract extension to continue driving for them through the 2020 season, meaning that he is set to be Leclerc’s teammate for at least the next two years.

At just 21 years old and driving for one of Formula 1’s three top-tier teams and the most successful team in the sport’s history, the former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy has a chance to fulfill his lifelong dream and the lifelong dream for him that was held by his father, who died happy due to his belief in his son’s lie, a lie that became a reality and is set to ascend to a lifelong dream-fulfilling reality this season.

But while fulfilling the lifelong dream of driving for Ferrari and perhaps winning several races per season driving for the team would undoubtedly be incredible for Leclerc, does he have what it takes to make Ferrari great again?

With 15 driver championships and 16 constructor championships, Ferrari are by far the most successful and accomplished team in Formula 1 history. McLaren’s 12 driver championship rank second to Ferrari’s 15 on the driver titles list, and Williams’ nine constructor championships rank second to Ferrari’s nine on the constructor titles list.

But a Ferrari driver has not won a championship since Raikkonen won it 12 years ago in the 2007 season. The team have not won the constructor championship since they won it 11 years ago in the 2008 season when Felipe Massa and Raikkonen drove for the team and finished in second and third place in the driver standings, respectively.

Leclerc has what it takes not only to make Ferrari a stronger contender to knock off five-time reigning constructor champions Mercedes for the constructor championship but what it takes to become Ferrari’s next world champion.

It is no secret that Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport are still Formula 1’s top team, but it is also no secret that Ferrari have made gains on them, especially in recent years, and that they may very well have the speed to contend with them in each and every race on the 2019 schedule, which you can see here.

With Leclerc set to replace Raikkonen, who earned only one victory during his second stint at Ferrari from the 2014 season through the 2018 season, expect Ferrari’s chances to win the constructor championship to jump right off the bat.

Leclerc is a driver who, in his rookie season, scored 36 points on 10 top 10 finishes, including a career-high sixth place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, driving for a team whose other drivers in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons combined to score only 16 points on only nine top 10 finishes in those three seasons put together.

In addition, Leclerc is not a particularly mistake-prone driver, especially for a driver who is as young as he is. Whether or not this continues to be the case for him as he drives for Ferrari naturally remains to be seen, but he does not seem like the kind of driver who would cave to that kind of pressure even at such a high level.

Meanwhile, Vettel’s unforced errors over the course of the last two seasons have hindered him from potentially becoming a six-time champion from a four-time champion. He won all four of his championships driving for Red Bull Racing from the 2010 season through the 2013 season.

Put two and two together. Ferrari are set to be as strong as they have been in over a decade this year, and Leclerc has far more upside than Vettel does as far as capitalizing on his opportunities is concerned. He is also more than 10 years younger than the 31-year-old German.

Even if Leclerc does not win the driver championship in the 2019 season, expect him to become a Formula 1 champion before his first contract with Ferrari expires. Expect him, not Vettel, to become the team’s next world champion, and expect him to lead the team to their first constructor championship since the 2008 season at some point in the very near future.

Will Charles Leclerc become Ferrari’s next Formula 1 driver champion? Will the Scuderia win their first constructor championship since the 2008 season with Leclerc as one of their two drivers? Will either of these two scenarios unfold before our eyes this year?

The 2019 season is scheduled to get underway in only a few short days, as the first of the 21 races on this year’s schedule, the Australian Grand Prix, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 17 at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia. ESPN is set to broadcast the race live beginning at 1:10 a.m. ET, so be sure not to miss it.