Former McLaren and Red Bull Formula 1 driver David Coulthard admitted that the impressive form of Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc in the start if the new championship has reminded him of Michael Schumacher’s dominance with the Maranello team at the beginning of the 2000s.
Michael Schumacher was able to win five consecutive world drivers’ championships with the Italian side from 2000 to 2004, which became the most successful era in the Maranello team’s seven-decade history in the sport.
During the last two campaigns, Scuderia Ferrari had to settle for a place in the midfield zone, with only a few podium finishes when the frontrunners encountered different issues. Now Ferrari have shown they are able to fight for race wins based on race pace alone, as the Italian side seems to have nailed Formula 1’s transition to a revolutionary new era of technical rules and regulations that led to the development of their new F1-75 challenger.
The design and basic concepts have been completely changed this year, with the aim of giving cars and drivers the possibility of following one another more easily, which should lead to more exciting racing. The goal seems to have been partially achieved, as seen in the first two races with Charles Leclerc’s tactical tussles for the lead against Max Verstappen.
The Monegasque driver took a memorable win in the Bahrain Grand Prix, followed by a second place finish in Saudi Arabia and another dominant victory in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, which also represented his first Grand Slam for the Maranello team (race win, pole position, fastest lap and leading every lap of the race).
As a result of Max Verstappen’s retirements in Sakhir and Melbourne, Charles Leclerc leads the 2022 Formula One championship standings by a solid 34 points to Mercedes’ George Russell in second. David Coulthard, who finished second behind Schumacher in the battle for the 2021 F1 title, admitted that Charles Leclerc’s performance in Australia gave him ‘shivers’.
“I had a little bit of a shiver actually, a flashback to when Michael was dominant in the Ferrari,’ Coulthard told Channel 4. ‘All my fears came back again!” – he said.
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David Coulthard was quick to praise Charles Leclerc’s character, as well as the work done by Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto in order bring the Italian side back on top after two very difficult years: “We’ve got to acknowledge [Leclerc] is a quality driver, a great human being. Ferrari has worked hard, and Mattia Binotto, what a cool character he’s been under all the pressure of the lack of performance over the last two years. That [Leclerc’s drive] was dominant. That really was an impressive display.” – he concluded.
The next round of the 2022 Formula 1 championship is scheduled to take place at Ferrari’s home circuit Imola in Italy on the weekend of 22 April.
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