Leclerc's Surprising Record-Breaking Stat Revealed By Damon Hill

Tuesday, 24 October 2023 at 19:00

F1 World Champion Damon Hill revealed an intriguing stat about the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc after the 2023 United States Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc achieved a pole position in the qualifying session on Friday. However, he could not turn the first starting position into a win as he did not have the race pace and was on the worst strategy during the race.

The Ferrari driver showed during both previous and current seasons that he clearly has the talent and driving skills to extract the maximum out of his car in one lap, but something is missing that separates him from winning races. Damon Hill said in the F1 Nation Podcast after the United States Grand Prix:

“"It was his 21st career pole for [Charles] Leclerc, it’s the most of any driver without a world championship. So, he’s been up there with the world champions, but he has not one."”

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This is not the most fortunate stat for the Monegasque driver. On the other hand, maybe it shows that Leclerc is just a great driver who is also very unlucky. Hill elaborated:

“"This is what we know about Charles; he’s very good over one lap if it comes off, but the promise is not fulfilled, is it? I’m not putting it at his door at all, and the reason he gets pole positions is he’s able to extract the very, very maximum out of the car."”

Hill concluded that in the end, Ferrari would not have achieved any pole if it weren't for the 26-year-old. The only problem is, that Leclerc just can't push so hard every single lap of the race like he does in qualifying.

“"But to do that for the entire race distance when you know can’t do it with the tire management anyway, that’s where they come unstuck. They wouldn’t have any poles if it wasn’t for Charles wringing every last drop out of that car."”

Leclerc got disqualified a few hours after the United States Grand Prix, so an even better result would not have mattered in the end. Leclerc will get his chance for redemption during this week's Mexico City Grand Prix.