74 points lost between Canada and Silverstone: four GPs cost Charles Leclerc his F1 title dream
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The best after the summer, but it's not enough
Charles Leclerc finished the 2024 season in third place in the drivers' standings, 18 points behind Lando Norris and 81 points behind Max Verstappen, who claimed his fourth consecutive world championship. Together with teammate Carlos Sainz, the Monegasque came close to bringing the Constructors' title to Maranello, but ultimately, that championship also went elsewhere, with McLaren triumphing 26 years after their last success.
Statistics showed that in the final 10 GPs after the summer break, Charles Leclerc was the best and most consistent driver on the grid, earning 4 points more than Norris and 19 more than Max Verstappen. However, looking back at the first part of the season, it becomes clear that Charles Leclerc's championship dream unraveled in four races, ironically following his long-awaited victory at the Monaco GP. Between Canada, Spain, Austria, and Great Britain – with four races and a Sprint – Charles Leclerc managed to score just 12 points.
A nightmare month
During that month, from June 9 to July 7, car #16 from Maranello lost 74 points to Verstappen and 46 to Norris. Even Nico Hülkenberg, driving for Haas, scored more points (16) than Leclerc during that span. While a drop in Ferrari's performance was evident, Charles Leclerc was also struck by a streak of bad luck in those four rounds: in Montreal, following a surprising Q2 elimination in qualifying, his engine failed; in Spain, there was a tough and controversial battle with Carlos Sainz in the early laps; in Austria, he collided with Oscar Piastri at Turn 1; and at Silverstone, a disappointing qualifying session and poor race strategy left the 1997-born driver out of the points.
It's impossible to dwell on "what ifs," but it seems likely that without these four missteps, Charles Leclerc could have fought for the championship up until the final GP of the season. This will likely be the key for the upcoming season, where he will share the garage with Lewis Hamilton: avoiding even minor setbacks and aiming to replicate his performance from the last 10 races of 2024 over the entire season. If he can achieve this, Charles Leclerc might truly set his sights on his first Formula 1 career title.
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