Former F1 team owner claims Charles Leclerc is the ‘only’ driver who can stop Max Verstappen’s dominance

Charles Leclerc was Max Verstappen's main rival for the 2022 F1 world title.

Former F1 team owner claims Charles Leclerc is the ‘only’ driver who can stop Max Verstappen’s dominance

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen has dominated Formula 1 for the past two seasons. The Dutch driver simply annihilated the competition in 2023 in his historic run to the world title. Verstappen remains the favorite for the upcoming season as Red Bull makes progress over the winter. Now, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan has reckoned that Charles Leclerc might be the only driver who can take the fight to Verstappen.

Jordan pointed out that he has had a good track record of making predictions. The Irishman had claimed that Michael Schumacher would go on to challenge Ayrton Senna before the German made his F1 debut. Eddie Jordan insisted that Max Verstappen had qualities of Both Schumacher and Senna.

I have a lot of experience in this. After Michael Schumacher’s first tests at Silverstone, I said that this guy would be able to challenge Ayrton Senna.

Eddie Jordan told F1-insider
YouTube video

The 75-year-old was convinced that only Charles Leclerc could manage to challenge Max Verstappen potentially putting an end to the Dutchman’s dominance. However, Jordan highlighted that Ferrari needed to match Red Bull in terms of pure pace in the upcoming season.

FS Video
It seems to me that the only one who is capable of challenging Verstappen is Charles Leclerc. But for this, Ferrari needs to build a car this year that will not be inferior to Red Bull.

The Scuderia had a failed title bid in 2022 when Charles Leclerc lost the championship to Verstappen due to a lackluster campaign in the second half of the season.

Eddie Jordan would sign Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris if he was still an F1 team boss

Max Verstappen is certainly the driver to have for any F1 team. However, the Dutch driver is locked up with Red Bull till at least 2028. Subsequently, Eddie Jordan reckoned that if was to lead a top team in F1 Verstappen was unavailable, then he would pick Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

If I were running a top team right now and couldn’t get Max on my own... I would have chosen Charles Leclerc, and I would have taken Lando Norris as his partner
Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (Image credit: www.ed.nl)

Leclerc and Norris are perhaps two of the most exciting talents in Formula 1. Charles Leclerc established himself as a Ferrari star during his first season at Maranello. On the other hand, Lando Norris has proven himself as the ideal driver for McLaren with some impressive results.

Certainly, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris came close to Max Verstappen with the right car. Both Ferrari and McLaren are working extensively to catch up with Milton Keynes for the upcoming season. As such, fans would be hoping to see Verstappen’s dominance get challenged by at least one of the two drivers this year.

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