'It's too early to write off Red Bull and Mercedes'

Max Verstappen faces a tough task if he wants to successfully defend his world title this season. After three races he is already facing a 46 point gap to Charles Leclerc. According to Gian Carlo Minardi, however, the championship is far from settled.

Leclerc untouchable in Australia

Ferrari is back at the top. Charles Leclerc won in Bahrain and Australia and was second in Saudi Arabia. The Monegasque is therefore the sovereign leader in the championship with almost twice as many points as the number two in the championship, George Russell. The big question, then, is whether anyone can stop Leclerc this season.

Former team boss Gian Carlo Minardi thinks to the Italian medium Corriere of it, although he is impressed with Leclerc and Ferrari. "The way Leclerc won in Melbourne said a lot. With confidence and serenity. He was untouchable." Minardi does point out that there are still twenty races to go and that Ferrari does need to keep both feet on the ground.

Red Bull and Mercedes come back

Although Mercedes and Red Bull Racing are already looking at a considerable gap, Minardi does not think at we should already flatten out both teams for the title fight. Especially with Verstappen we still have to take into account. "Verstappen is not that far behind." And if Mercedes provides the right resources we can also still expect Lewis Hamilton in the fight for the title.

Minardi agrees that Red Bull and Mercedes have many problems, but thinks that the teams can also solve them quickly. "Reliability problems can slow down the development of the car, but solving them can be quick. In such a long championship, it's too early to write them off."