Formula 1: Charles Leclerc has the ruthless edge to become world champion

Charles Leclerc has been a star of the 2019 Formula 1 season and his ruthless edge shows that he is ready to be a champion.

The story of Charles Leclerc in Formula 1 this season has been fascinating to watch, with the Monegasque driver growing from promising youngster at Sauber into a multiple race winner for Ferrari in front of our eyes.

While his season hasn’t been without errors, he has shown rapid progression and an impressive ability to recover from his mistakes.

Early in the season Leclerc recovered from a disastrous Monaco Grand Prix when he failed to get out of the first round of qualifying and then crashed trying to make his way through the field, with consecutive podium finishes in Canada and France, followed by a pole position in Austria.

Similarly, after Leclerc’s early season struggles in qualifying when he was often unable to combine his best three sectors for one flying lap, he went on a nine-race run of out qualifying his teammate, four-time world champion Sebastien Vettel.

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He has also embraced hard wheel to wheel racing with open arms, responding to Max Verstappen’s aggressive overtaking during the Austrian Grand Prix by getting his elbows out in the subsequent races.

Leclerc is now established as one of the toughest racers on the grid, showcasing his skills with numerous overtakes in the recent Japanese Grand Prix.

While some have cast doubt over Leclerc’s behavior in recent races, his growth in self-confidence should be viewed a positive factor for the rest of his career.

Like Verstappen, Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc has shown he will do anything to win, whether that be ignoring team orders or arguing with his team over strategic decisions.

At Bahrain earlier in the season, Leclerc knew he was faster than Vettel and wasn’t willing to wait for an indecisive Ferrari team to allow him to pass, so he took matters into his own hands.

Just like Vettel when he was younger, Leclerc isn’t in Formula 1 to support his more experienced counterpart, but rather to show through his superior speed that he is the driver worth backing going forward.

Aside from Vettel, there are also comparisons with the way Hamilton refused to accept his status as number two to Fernando Alonso in 2007.

Hamilton felt he was faster and took the fight to Alonso and it resulted in the Spanish driver leaving the team and Hamilton becoming world champion in only his second season in Formula 1.

Ferrari’s lack of speed early on in the season has compromised Leclerc’s ability to match that record, but by coming very close to usurping Vettel as Ferrari number one, Leclerc has shown some very favorable similarities to a man who will likely become a six-time world champion in the next couple of weeks.

However, Leclerc job isn’t finished yet and he will be very aware of the fact that Vettel outqualified him in Japan and looked slightly faster than he did in race trim during the Russian Grand Prix last month.

Leclerc must now refocus after the disappointment of Suzuka and look to dominate Vettel throughout the remaining four races of the season.

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Charles Leclerc has shown the speed and the ruthless edge to become a Formula 1 champion, and if he is able to make himself the Ferrari number one driver going into next season, he has every chance of being the first Maranello driver to win the world championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

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