Ex-F1 driver claims Max Verstappen could have delivered Ferrari a championship if he was driving instead Charles Leclerc

The name Max Verstappen has been representative of Red Bull Racing in recent years. The same can be said for Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. These two drivers still have the majority of their careers ahead of them, and while Verstappen has lived up to his potential, Leclerc is yet to do so.

Charles Leclerc was tipped to be a future world champion after joining frontrunners Ferrari in just his second year in F1. He even outperformed Sebastian Vettel in their time as partners, an astonishing feat comparing their levels of expertise and experience. However, things have gone steadily downhill for the prodigy and the Scuderia, with recent years marred by mistakes and inconsistency.

Former F1 driver-turned-pundit Michael Bleekemolen believes that if it were Verstappen instead of Leclerc at Ferrari, he would have delivered a world title for them by now, highlighting his superiority to the Monegasque. Speaking to racingnews365, he said, “I’ve said it before: if we see Max in a Ferrari, the team would win races in a short time. That has to do with how you run the game as a whole. How you deal with your engineer and so on. We now don’t know how much slower they really are at Ferrari, for example. We have one total driver at the moment and his name is Max Verstappen.“

Related: Imola GP cancellation benefits Sergio Perez in his title duel with Max Verstappen, asserts F1 pundit

Charles Leclerc’s title hopes with Ferrari are diminishing

The future of F1 driver Charles Leclerc at Ferrari has been a hot topic lately. Many people acknowledge Leclerc’s potential but feel that Ferrari has not effectively capitalized on it. Speculation has arisen that Leclerc is a strong contender to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, particularly considering his contract expires at the end of the season.

With Leclerc’s Ferrari contract expiring at the end of next season, rumors of his departure to the Silver Arrows have been circulating, courtesy of Ferrari’s failure to deliver him a championship-winning car, inhibiting him from harnessing his true potential. It is a widespread belief that his recent crashes are a result of his trying hard to push the car beyond its realistic capabilities.

At the moment, a title with him for the Scuderia seems to be a distant dream, as Red Bull is a class apart from the rest. This leaves Leclerc with the tough decision of either remaining loyal to the Scuderia or pursuing his personal desires. Once his frustration with his team hits his peak, we could well see the Monegasque shift to another frontrunner and pursue his ambitions there. He is enduring a dismal 2023 and is in the worst form he has ever been in.

In case you missed it:

• David Coulthard reveals the reason behind Fernando Alonso enjoying a better comeback to F1 than Michael Schumacher
• Ferrari vice chairman exposes the key factor that makes Charles Leclerc weak compared to Max Verstappen

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