Is Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc better than Max Verstappen? But how can you even answer such a question. We are talking about drivers racing in the same era and of the same age. All true. Nonetheless, they have two very different stories, which clearly emerge when you look at their résumés. Max Verstappen has won four Formula 1 world championships, the Monegasque has none. A fact that makes you think, but only up to a point, because without the right car and a united team behind you, it is hard to win.
Yet, the Dutchman managed to do it last season, bringing home a phenomenal Formula 1 world title. He had a great car at the start of the 2025 F1 season, but then, from Miami onwards, the superiority of the MCL38 single-seater started to make an impact. At the same time, Red Bull went into a technical slump, recovering only in the final third of the season. But the Dutchman never gave up, optimizing every race weekend.
In addition to his immense merit, especially evident in some cases, like in Brazil, where he started 17th and finished first, three elements helped him a lot. First, Red Bull. A team capable of turning ineffective setups inside out and then providing Max Verstappen with the best possible performance for each Grand Prix. A magic circle that makes a huge difference in Formula 1.
The other advantage concerns McLaren’s inability to capitalize. The Woking team threw away a ton of points and, above all, decided to bet on the wrong driver. Oscar Piastri’s start to this 2025 Formula 1 season confirms it. The last point, and not a minor one, is Ferrari’s return to competitiveness from Monza onwards. The Maranello team’s drivers were able to fight for race victories and therefore took many points away from Lando Norris.
Has Charles Leclerc ever found himself in such a situation? It seems not. Has he ever had dominant cars like Max Verstappen? Again, it seems not. Could he have done more? Probably yes. The only year where he had a car capable of fighting, for a while, was 2022. In that championship, for about a third of the Formula 1 season, aside from reliability issues, the Monegasque driver was driving a strong car. Probably, a few more points could have been earned that year.
However, it must be said that the regression suffered by the F1-75 was so drastic that winning with it became almost impossible. Would Max Verstappen have done better in his place? Who knows… it’s possible. The fact remains that these are all just opinions. That is precisely why, considering this short summary, at least from our perspective, it remains quite difficult to make a definitive judgment. All that aside, Max Verstappen remains an extraordinary Formula 1 phenomenon.
The real aim of this article was not to determine who is the better driver. Undoubtedly, looking at Max Verstappen’s numbers and putting him ahead of the Ferrari man in terms of statistics, one could say that Charles Leclerc excels in several key areas. He is incredibly fast, aggressive, outstanding in wheel-to-wheel battles, and highly tactical when needed. One of many examples was just last weekend at the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where his superb tire management earned Ferrari the first podium for the 2025 Formula 1 campaign.
But there is another quality that many, mistakenly, have rarely attributed to him in recent years. We are talking about his technical ability to develop the car with the team and steer the direction in terms of driving style and upgrades. If there were still any doubts, after the first five Grands Prix of the season, can we say that without Charles Leclerc Ferrari would be utterly lost? Absolutely yes.
Up through the Chinese Grand Prix, the Monegasque driver studied the Ferrari to understand how to optimize its performance with his driving style. And we are not just talking about raw driving talent. No, sir. We are talking about the ability to understand the car better than the Ferrari technicians and engineers and to impose his experience to improve the handling and boost performance. It has often been said that while Charles Leclerc is fast, he does not know how to develop the car, is not a test driver, and does not contribute to the team’s growth, all claims that have been repeated many times despite being unfounded.
But the direction taken since Shanghai is so clear that it proves all that wrong. And it is precisely when problems arise that a driver’s ability comes to light, not just in driving, but also in guiding the team toward the right path. Charles Leclerc is doing this once again, proving to be the true and only leader of this group. The only Ferrari update that, in the 2025 championship, is working brilliantly. Just ask Lewis Hamilton for confirmation.
— see video above —
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