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Analysis | Pole king Leclerc does not exploit lead on Verstappen

Analysis | Pole king Leclerc does not exploit lead on Verstappen

05-08-2022 19:12
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GPblog.com

The title battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc is very one-sided at the moment. Although the Dutchman has a lead of no less than 80 points, figures show that Ferrari remains close to Red Bull Racing. GPblog therefore puts a number of statistics in a row.

Leclerc has been the king of qualifying this season. He managed to take pole seven times in 2022, although most of these occurred in the first quarter of the season. The comparison with Verstappen is clear: he only has three pole positions.

Nevertheless, Verstappen managed to take the most victories. He managed to take the top prize at the end of the Grand Prix weekend eight times, while Leclerc only managed this three times. Of those numbers, Verstappen took victory six times without starting from pole, while the Monegasque managed the same only once.

Qualifying keeps Leclerc in contention

Ferrari have mainly impressed in qualifying this season. With Leclerc, the Italian team has managed to get a better starting position than Verstappen more often than the other way around. Leclerc has started ahead of Verstappen nine times this year, while the Dutchman has only managed to do so four times this season.

Verstappen, however, proved that he is a fighter this calendar year. Of the thirteen races the reigning world champion managed to keep his starting position or even win positions nine times. Leclerc did this five times. Verstappen also finished ahead of Leclerc nine times, while the Ferrari driver managed to do so only four times.

Team hurt Leclerc on several occasions

However, it is not always because of Leclerc that he is unable to beat Verstappen in the race. Where the Dutchman only had to retire in Bahrain and Australia, Leclerc had to do so in Spain, Azerbaijan and France. He also suffered a grid penalty in Canada, which meant he had to regain a number of positions.

Leclerc's losses were not at the best of times. When Verstappen started from pole position, he never had to face any problems with his car. This is in stark contrast to Leclerc who, out of seven pole positions, was forced to retire three times early, although in France that was his own fault. There is plenty of work for Ferrari and Leclerc to do to start the second half of the season well.