“They might be the surprise,” Charles Leclerc counting on Mercedes to join the championship battle


“They might be the surprise,” Charles Leclerc counting on Mercedes to join the championship battle

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

From what appeared during the pre-season testing rounds, we believed we’ll have a three-way fight between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Or even optimistically, four-way between the aforementioned and McLaren. But things didn’t happen as expected.

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Mercedes’ start to the 2022 season has been far from satisfying. The team that won eight constructors’ championships consecutively until now is struggling to fight for the podium and sometimes even points.

Mercedes is now looking for a way to control its porpoising and find its pace and stability back. And this is also what the current leader of the drivers’ championship, Charles Leclerc, wishes to see.

Recently, as quoted by F1.com, the Ferrari driver said, “The surprise is Mercedes for now; they seem to be very strong and also on the high-fuel pace they were strong, so they might be the surprise this weekend, and it would be nice if they could join the battle with Red Bull and ourselves.”

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Charles Leclerc’s view of the new Miami track

Charles Leclerc in Miami

Miami will be the second race on the F1 calendar and will be joined by Las Vegas next year. The track is a purpose-built temporary circuit around Hard Rock Stadium and its private facilities in Miami.

A few days before the first practice session, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez shared an optimistic review of the track. The drivers, just like the experts, predict high-speed racing on the straights and good overtaking opportunities.

Charles Leclerc also approved of the track after the practice session. The Monegasque said, “It’s very tricky track. But yes, it’s nice, I like it, I enjoy it, it seems like the field is much closer together than what we’ve seen since the beginning of the season so it should be exciting.”

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Going into the fifth round, Charles Leclerc has also taken a new power unit, something which Ferrari hadn’t planned until the sixth round, i.e., Spain. With Max Verstappen’s challenge on his tail, the pressure would be to finish the race ahead of the reigning champion and increase the lead, which is already strong at 37 points.

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