Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, 2019

Leclerc not ready to “wave goodbye” to title hopes

RaceFans Round-up

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In the round-up: Charles Leclerc says he’s not prepared to give up on the championship despite his disappointing start to the season.

What they say

Leclerc was asked whether he think the championship is already over for him, having fallen 80 points behind Lewis Hamilton with 390 available:

No not yet. I never wave goodbye until it’s done.

Of course it has been a difficult start to the season. We definitely expected more but we don’t need to wave goodbye yet. We need to push until the end and that’s what we are doing, trying to understand our mistakes, try to not do them again and improve from there. I’m pretty sure the results will come.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

We’re only six races into the championship but @Jureo reckons Ferrari should start thinking about the 2020 F1 season:

It is not a bold move to call time on this season.

Mercedes has scored a historic record start to a season. They are bringing a new engine this race, and even with old one, they were faster on all types of tracks.

To Ferrari second or third does not matter much. They have fundamental flaws in their concept especially in how they use their tires. If it is a suspension design issue, that will most likely take a new season to fix. Or a ‘B car’. Their aero is also different to what Mercedes and Red Bull are using. Right or wrong, they are slower.

Now would be very correct time to stop developing a wrong concept and start on a new concept, determine if it is indeed the right way to go. Then potentially release a B-spec of the car to verify the lessons learned.

Otherwise they go in to next season blind without knowing if their new concept is actually better than the wrong concept of this year. Developing to a marginal gain this year, would only take them further in the wrong direction.
@Jureo

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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22 comments on “Leclerc not ready to “wave goodbye” to title hopes”

  1. Only 2 things stand in the way of Leclerc’s title bid. Mercedes. And Ferrari. And Vettel. Sure that’s 3, but the last 2 are working hard to ensure the first one keeps the title.

    1. DAllein (@)
      7th June 2019, 6:53

      Crashing also doesn’t help… now if there was a way to quickly get experience and get rid of impatience and recklessness…

      But yeah, 2 and 3 are still too hard to beat.

  2. Sometimes I also struggle to find the courage to rip off the bandaid

  3. What else is Leclerc going to say. Pointless. He should start helping Vettel out he’s that far behind ;)

  4. Maybe Stroll’s Dad can buy him a team and we’ll see him in the NHL soon!

    1. JR Love (@dermechaniker)
      7th June 2019, 6:03

      !

    2. The Groundhogs of Montreal remember and they know you’re coming Romain …. I wouldn’t go on a circuit walk alone if I was you!

      Maybe Lance should suggest winter races on ice?

      I like CotDs concept but I also want to see Ferrari push as hard as they can if only to give Max a challenge.

      1. Whoops – don’t know why this came out as a reply to you @skipgamer
        Sorry to hijack your column ;)

  5. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    7th June 2019, 7:24

    The launch of Racing Pride should breathe some new life into drag racing.

    1. Thank you for demonstrating why there’s so much still to do to promote inclusion in the racing world.

      1. If the purpose of your comment was to raise awareness for the fact that there are people around who cannot even deal with the most inoffensive of puns about a slightly sensitive subject without going full passive-aggressive, you’ve achieved your goal.
        Just don’t count on me to thank you for it, sarcastically or not.

      2. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
        7th June 2019, 15:55

        Come on Becca don’t be silly. I’m all for inclusion by all into our passion, just a harmless play on words.

    2. BOOM BOOM … are you here all week? ;)

      1. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
        7th June 2019, 8:48

        Sorry

  6. TIL:
    The title “Robin Herd dies” does not (necessarily) bemoan the passing of a large group of passerine birds …
    In my defence, March was basically ancient history by the time I started watching F1, and had hardly been more than a zombie during my lifetime.

  7. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
    7th June 2019, 8:38

    @rdotquestionmark badum-dshhhh!

    1. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
      7th June 2019, 8:40

      @m-bagattini damn, this commenting system is total c**p

  8. The motorsport world is looking at leclerc through rose tinted glasses, if Kimi was in the car and making mistakes like leclerc has done and been beaten 5-1 in quali by Vettel people would call for his head. He has raw speed and potential but certainly not a world championship standard driver right now.

    1. Yeah, no. He’s 21 years old, with not even 30 GP starts on his tally. So, clearly, there’s no reason to measure him immediately against the same standard as a 39-year-old veteran with 300 starts to his name.
      And yet, Leclerc has been in a position to beat Vettel in no less than 3 of the 6 races so far, has qualified on pole and was going to win in a race where Vettel didn’t even finish on the podium.
      In short: His list of successes after 6 races at Ferrari already reads like Räikkönen’s after 2 years.

  9. I like how there’s a little purpose-made hole in the trackside wall at the end of the back straight specifically made for Groundhogs.

    The COTD has a point, but Ferrari can’t just start focusing entirely on next season without first figuring out and fixing the problems of the current car.

Comments are closed.