Charles Leclerc vs Sebastian Vettel Shocking similarities between their failed championship campaigns with Ferrari × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout Formula 1 Italian GP Feature

Charles Leclerc vs Sebastian Vettel Shocking similarities between their failed championship campaigns with Ferrari

By Charanjot Singh Modified 14 Sep 2022 Follow Us Comment Share Charles Leclerc is looking at a failed championship campaign against Ferrari Charles Leclerc, just like his predecessor Sebastian Vettel, is heading for a failed championship campaign this season. The driver had a great car under him at the start of the season but one thing after the other went wrong and what we see now is Leclerc facing a 116-point deficit that cannot be surmounted this season. Having said that, what would be a rather shocking observation for a Charles Leclerc fan is the similarities in the title campaigns of the Monegasque and Sebastian Vettel, the lead driver for the last Ferrari title challenge, which took place in 2018. The campaign capitulated in the second half of the season and the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes combo cruised to a win. Ferrari News @FanaticsFerrariThis move by Sebastian Vettel in 2018

4017195This move by Sebastian Vettel in 2018 https://t.co/ddi5eEceRj Since then, Ferrari has changed the drivers. We now have Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in place of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. The top management has changed as well since Mattia Binotto's political coup to usurp Maurizio Arrivabene worked, and he became the new team principal. There have been changes in the structure too, and Ferrari tried to rebuild itself to become a championship-winning team by the time the new regulations arrived for the 2022 F1 season. Charles Leclerc@Charles_LeclercP9 in Lap 1 then tear off in the brakes that causes front right brake overheating, have to stop to take off the tear off off the brakes, come back to P5, took a 5 seconds penalty for being too quick in pit lane because of a burnt sensor caused by the first issue. Beautiful day!1227755654P9 in Lap 1 then tear off in the brakes that causes front right brake overheating, have to stop to take off the tear off off the brakes, come back to P5, took a 5 seconds penalty for being too quick in pit lane because of a burnt sensor caused by the first issue. Beautiful day! https://t.co/8TbcsiqzEt Despite all of these changes, the misery of a Ferrari lead driver has not changed at all. The failed championship campaigns of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel (the 2018 F1 Championship campaign) are shockingly similar and for a Ferrari/Charles Leclerc fan, this should be alarming.

A strong start to the season for both Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel

Charles Leclerc had, without a doubt, the fastest car on the grid at the start of the season. He won the race in Bahrain in what was a straight fight between him and Max Verstappen. He was also very close to winning the second race at Saudi Arabia. He then won the third race in Australia, where he dominated the field. After the first three races of the season, Leclerc enjoyed a 46-point advantage over Max Verstappen, his main title rival. Formula 1@F1CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX!

He takes home his first-ever Grand Slam victory - pole, win and fastest lap!!! ?

#AusGP #F1 @Charles_Leclerc10363118879CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX! He takes home his first-ever Grand Slam victory - pole, win and fastest lap!!! ?#AusGP #F1 @Charles_Leclerc https://t.co/3uSxV281VL In Sebastian Vettel's case, things were far more consistent and the challenge was much more sustained. Vettel was only 17 points behind Lewis Hamilton after the 2018 F1 Belgian GP and everything was still on the line.

Consistent drop in form as the season progresses

For both Vettel and Leclerc, the one thing that was consistent was their drop in performance. For Vettel, this happened around Monza and Singapore, from which point he could not compete with the Mercedes anymore and became too desperate. Motorsport Stats@msportstatsCharles Leclerc's DNF in the #SpanishGP was the 10th time in the past years that a driver has retired while leading a Grand Prix ? Half of those 10 have been Lewis Hamilton!

Which race was the most memorable to you?

#F1 #MotorsportStats29542Charles Leclerc's DNF in the #SpanishGP was the 10th time in the past years that a driver has retired while leading a Grand Prix ? Half of those 10 have been Lewis Hamilton! Which race was the most memorable to you? #F1 #MotorsportStats https://t.co/GHE6cU7xgT For Leclerc, it happened much earlier. Even though things were more or less nip and tuck between the two teams, the momentum had started shifting towards Red Bull from Imola onwards. This drop in form has seen Leclerc unable to even fight Verstappen anymore in races.

Drivers determining strategies during the races

One of the more irritating things to see during the race is the long discussion that Leclerc has with his race engineer. A driver should not dictate race strategy this extensively, that too during a race where he has bigger fish to fry, especially given that Max Verstappen would be relentless even on his worst day. At that time, Leclerc doing double duty as a driver as well as a strategist looks counter-productive at best. What this also does is show a complete breakdown of trust in the strategy department for the driver, something that is not desirable in any state. tami.@VetteleclercCharles Leclerc post-race team radio (P5): "Yeah copy. I will review the race but obviously after the pit stop it was not ideal but anyway."

#CanadianGP2433116Charles Leclerc post-race team radio (P5): "Yeah copy. I will review the race but obviously after the pit stop it was not ideal but anyway."#CanadianGP The same thing happened with Sebastian Vettel during his stint with Ferrari. The German had suffered from a complete breakdown of trust in the kind of work that the strategy team was doing. While the situation was not as dire as with Leclerc, and Vettel was not deciding race strategies every time before he pit, there was still constant back and forth during the race.

That crash from the lead of the race

For Sebastian Vettel, the pivotal crash was the one from the lead at the 2018 F1 German GP. For Charles Leclerc, it is the crash at Paul Ricard this season. In both cases, the driver error was inexcusable. Vettel should not have beached the car while in the lead. Similarly, Leclerc should not have crashed in the dry at Paul Ricard. Were both drivers already drained from the emotional challenges of being a Ferrari driver? Maybe. ESPN F1@ESPNF1LECLERC CRASHES OUT OF THE FRENCH GP! 8278467LECLERC CRASHES OUT OF THE FRENCH GP! https://t.co/7elKawZANe In 2018, Vettel lost a ridiculous amount of time to Hamilton as he got stuck behind his teammate. That might mean that he overdrove the car. Leclerc was carrying the baggage of multiple DNFs because of reliability and then to make things worse, had to encounter one strategic disaster after another. Maybe that led to him pushing too hard at the time, thereby making him go into the wall. Regardless, the fact of the matter is that both the drivers did crash out from the lead of the race and had to deal with the resulting infamy. Motorsport.com@Motorsport#OnThisDay in 2018, Vettel dramatically crashed out of lead at the German GP with 15 laps to go

Hamilton would go on to win the race after starting all the way down in 14th

#F1 #Motorsport1073103#OnThisDay in 2018, Vettel dramatically crashed out of lead at the German GP with 15 laps to go Hamilton would go on to win the race after starting all the way down in 14th #F1 #Motorsport https://t.co/Cw6DVMAz43 When one tries to observe and compare the two failed campaigns, it reveals far too many shocking similarities. In fact, Charles Leclerc is going through the same things as Sebastian Vettel did, only worse. The car lost competitiveness earlier. The strategy team is in worse shape, and to add to that, there's no acceptance of these shortcomings. Being a Ferrari driver brings with it a lot of prestige. In the last decade, however, it has brought a lot of pain as well. And judging by the similarities between what Sebastian Vettel went through and what Charles Leclerc is going through, the pain won't recede soon. What's your favorite race of the 2022 season so far? Tell us in the comments below.. Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Upasya Bhowal × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout No Results Found Get the free App now Manage notifications Popular ‍ Sports (30+) CricketCricket HomeScheduleT20 World CupT20 warm upIND vs SAENG vs PAKAUS vs ENGLegends LeagueECS T10 CroatiaWBBL 2022ECC T10SMAT 2022Bukhatir LeagueNZ T20 Tri-SeriesWomen's Asia Cup 2022ECT10 FootballFootball HomeNewslettersSK Experts ScheduleEPLNations LeagueLa LigaLigue 1Champions LeagueFIFA WCMLS Bundesliga Serie A WWEWWE HomeNewslettersRumor RoundupRAWSmackDownResultsRosterChampionsWWE Crown Jewel 2022PPV ScheduleAEW EsportsEsports HomeMinecraftOverwatch 2RobloxGenshin ImpactFortniteGTAStreamersFree FirePUBGValorantBGMIPop CultureAnimeGaming TechWiki Guides TennisTennis HomeTennis calendarTennis Results TodayATP RankingsWTA RankingsRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicSerena Williams MMAMMA HomeUFC NewsONE ChampionshipUFC Fight NightScheduleRankingsResultsUFC Fights TonightONE Championship ResultsONE Championship ScheduleONE Championship Rankings KabaddiKabaddi HomePKL 2022PKL SchedulePKL Points TableKabaddi Rules WikiWiki HomeMinecraft WikiNaruto WikiTikTok WikiYoutube WikiGTA WikiTerraria WikiOne Piece Wiki MoreSportsBasketballIndian FootballNFLMinecraftFormula 1NascarPop CultureCollege FootballHockeyGolfAthleticsBadmintonGymnasticsWrestlingSwimmingTennisShootingBoxingArcheryWinter SportsRobloxFree PicksSkateboardingKho KhoLifestyle LINKS About Us Write For Us Policies Editorial Standards Journalism Awards Fact Check Affiliate Program Careers CSR Privacy Policy Contact Us Edition: English हिन्दी