Leclerc Has To Work On One Critical Aspect But Can 'Absolutely' Attack Verstappen And Hamilton

Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 11:00

Three-time Grand Prix winner and former F1 driver Johnny Herbert said he believes Charles Leclerc could absolutely challenge Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Leclerc is considered the fastest driver in F1 by many at the moment. Former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 Co-commentator Martin Brundle recently said "about the Ferrari driver: "You could argue that he's the fastest out there at the moment."

The Monegasque's driver is to one day win the Drivers' Championship with Ferrari, and the closest he has come so far was in 2022 when he finished second, 146 points behind Max Verstappen.

The problem was, on the one hand, that his car lacked race pace compared to Red Bull. However, the 26-year-old also made multiple driver errors, which cannot happen to somebody who wants to win the Championship. Johny Herbert told PlanetF1 about Leclerc:

"If I was to be critical, the only thing that I suppose we’ve all seen are those mistakes. And those mistakes is something you don’t see from Max, you don’t really see that from Lewis."

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Verstappen is a great example of a driver who made many mistakes but evolved as a driver as he learned, and in 2023, he showed the World one of the most consistent and flawless seasons F1 has ever seen.

"There have been a couple maybe in the last couple of years but I think overall, when he was winning the championships, they did not happen."

While Leclerc made a few mistakes in 2023 (for example crashing twice in Miami), he generally shows progress as a driver as he is becoming more and more consistent.

Herbert believes the Monegasque proved he can challenge drivers like the triple and seven-time World Champions for the title when he gets the chance. He added:

"But I think Charles showed at the end of the year that he’s moving in the right direction. Can he attack Max and Lewis? Absolutely he can and he’s proven it.