Formula 1: Charles Leclerc eyeing feat no one has pulled off since 2015

Charles Leclerc continued his red-hot start to the 2022 Formula 1 season with a dominant Australian Grand Prix victory in Melbourne.

In the first three races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has already doubled his career win total, winning the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit and then adding another dominant win in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit.

He finished in second place behind reigning world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull in the race in between, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

But thanks to two retirements from Verstappen plus one from Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., the only other driver with multiple podium finishes this year, Leclerc’s start to the season has allowed him to open up a massive lead in the driver standings.

With 71 points, the 24-year-old Monegasque already has a 34-point lead on Mercedes’ George Russell, who sits in second place with three top five finishes to open up his first year with the Silver Arrows. At no point during the entire 2021 season did any driver lead by 34 points.

To put this in perspective, Leclerc hasn’t finished lower than second place in his three starts this season. Russell, despite sitting in second in points, hasn’t finished higher than third.

Drivers can only score a maximum of 26 points in each race, so Leclerc is guaranteed to be the points leader after the next race in Imola.

Additionally, even with second place finishes in the next four races, Leclerc would not fall from the lead — even if Russell, or any other driver, were to win all four races and do so with the fastest lap.

While there are still 20 races remaining on the 23-race schedule, Leclerc has established himself as the man to beat and the favorite to win the world championship. He has led 143 of the 165 laps that have been run so far this season, while no other driver has led more than 14.

And if he does that, he also has a chance to do something that hasn’t been done since the 2015 season.

Not since the 2015 season have the driver standings seen only the eventual champion lead. Lewis Hamilton pulled it off that year to win his second title. Of his seven titles, this is the only title he won after leading from wire to wire.

With Leclerc winning in Bahrain, he could also potentially become the first driver to win the title after winning the season opener since the 2016 season, when Nico Rosberg pulled it off.