After years within the doldrums, Ferrari appeared to have lastly discovered a championship contender in Charles Leclerc – till a sequence of unlucky occasions put a damper on his 2022 season. However perhaps Leclerc’s 2022 title possibilities have been doomed from the beginning…
The 24-year-old Monégasque emerged early within the season as reigning World Champion Max Verstappen’s largest title rival (nosing out Lewis Hamilton because of the weak spot of Mercedes’ 2022 automobile), even main the championship battle for the primary 5 races… However a sequence of blunders – some Ferrari’s fault, some his – have seen Verstappen overtake Leclerc in wins and factors.
Verstappen is now a stable 80 factors forward of Leclerc with 9 races left within the season: not a very insurmountable hole for Leclerc to shut, however one which’ll be a severe problem, notably contemplating how on-form Verstappen is and the way robust Pink Bull’s automobile appears to be.
But historical past isn’t on Leclerc’s aspect, as WTF1 factors out. The final 5 seasons have proven us that the driving force who wins the season opener is doomed to come back 2nd within the championship – which isn’t excellent news for Leclerc.
’17 – Vettel wins season opener – P2 in WDC
’18 – Vettel wins season opener – P2 in WDC
’19 – Bottas wins season opener – P2 in WDC
’20 – Bottas wins season opener – P2 in WDC
’21 – Hamilton wins season opener – P2 in WDC
’22 – Leclerc wins season opener – Presently P2 in WDC
🤔 pic.twitter.com/iazbDmgUSd— WTF1 (@wtf1official) August 23, 2022
However as Mark Twain as soon as wrote, “listed below are three sorts of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” One solely has to look again yet another yr to 2016 to see that this principle won’t maintain water – Nico Rosberg, who received the 2016 title, received the primary race of the yr. Similar goes for Lewis Hamilton in 2015.
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Certainly, if you happen to look again at each F1 season of the twenty first century, there have been 11 years the place the driving force that received the primary race of the season went on to win the championship, in comparison with solely 5 years the place the driving force that received the season opener went on to come back 2nd within the championship.
Though that assertion in itself is a inventive strategy to body statistics, too…
The 2022 Method 1 World Championship begins again up this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, with lights out scheduled for 11pm AEST on Sunday, twenty eighth August.
Spa is a circuit that’s traditionally been fairly form to Leclerc – certainly, it’s the place he received his first ever F1 race again in 2019, changing into the primary Monégasque driver to win a Method 1 Grand Prix. Fingers crossed he can win once more.
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