F1 News
'Hamilton has to be prepared, Leclerc is a monster there'
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both complete a great Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, after the pair had start from P16 and P19 respectively. The Monegasque driver finished on the podium, while his future teammate finished behind him P4. According to former F1 driver Christijan Albers, that is a good omen for Ferrari, but suggests Hamilton will have to come prepared to challenge Leclerc.
For Hamilton, many Grands Prix in the 2024 season followed the same pattern. A worse qualifying session followed by an excellent Sunday. Christijan Albers praises the seven-time world champion's pace, but sees he needs to step up in terms of the Saturdays. Especially because who his teammate will be next year. "You have to prepare yourself. Because if there is a qualifying monster in Formula 1, it's Leclerc."
Leclerc better than Verstappen at this point in this aspect
Albers sees Leclerc being the best qualifying driver at the moment in the competition, ranking him above four-time world champion Max Verstappen. "I think if you have Leclerc and Verstappen side by side, Verstappen already has a problem," he continued.
However, the Dutch analyst does have a caveat: "Not on the long run, not the racing and the insight, the overtaking, the fighting, being constant. The thinking along [the event]. That's where I see Verstappen on a higher level than Leclerc. But when qualifying starts, that Leclerc is a monster," Albers concluded about Leclerc's qualities.
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!