Leclerc 'Hasn't Shown' Yet He Can Be World Champion Says Villeneuve Amid Hamilton Comparison
F1Wednesday, 17 April 2024 at 02:00
Jacques Villeneuve (1997 Formula 1 World Champion) compared Charles Leclerc and his future teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz after the end of the current (2024) season and race alongside Charles Leclerc at least until 2026.
The matchup between the 26-year-old and the Mercedes driver is highly anticipated because Leclerc has zero championships but is considered a future World Champion.
He has already beaten four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel in Ferrari during the two seasons that they spent together, but it remains to be seen how he compares against the most successful F1 driver of all time. Jacques Villeneuve told GP Fans:
"He [Lewis Hamilton] hasn't been built. He's actually won his championships; he's won his races; he's achieved it all."
"Which is very, very different than other drivers that have been put in Ferrari without championships, without wins, but where Ferrari has tried to build their image as champions."
Villeneuve believes the Monegaque driver is a great example of that. Though many consider him one of the best, he still has to prove himself by winning the World Championship title.
"For example, Charles has a built image, but he has not shown it yet. That will be interesting to see the two fight it off."
"How will the one that's achieved it all compare to the one who's said to be a champion but he isn't yet?"
What is interesting is that so far in 2024, the driver that Ferrari got rid of (Sainz) has been performing better than both Hamilton and Leclerc.
There are still quite a few races remaining in this season, but some experts (like Mark Webber) are already starting to ask whether Ferrari could potentially regret their decision to keep Leclerc or take the seven-time World Champion.
Was this the right or wrong move? Only time will tell, but based on their past performance (not only in 2023), Ferrari should have one of the strongest, if not the strongest, driver pairings on paper (in 2025).
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