This is how many points Leclerc could have been ahead of Verstappen

We are exactly halfway through the current Formula 1 season after the Austrian Grand Prix. After eleven weekends Max Verstappen is on top of the world championship with 208 points. He has a 38-point lead over Charles Leclerc, but that could have been very different. The following alternative World Championship standings for 2022 demonstrate this.

Leclerc's big lead was possible

Leclerc has had a lot of bad luck so far this year. His Ferrari engine failed a couple of times, the strategists of his Italian employer were not always fully awake and also in the pitlane things did not always go smoothly. The young Monegasque himself wasn't entirely faultless either, but what if none of this had happened? Right, Leclerc would have scored a lot more points.

In fact, Leclerc would have been leading the World Championship. And not just a little bit. Ignoring all Ferrari's and Leclerc's problems and mistakes, the 24-year-old driver could have scored 258 points. Verstappen would have had 191 points, a difference of 67 points. That is the equivalent of almost three Grand Prix wins. GPblog shows you where the differences came from.

In the first three GPs in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, Leclerc's points have not gone astray. In Imola, Leclerc finished sixth on Sunday after a nasty spin behind Sergio Perez. Had Leclerc been more patient, he would have finished third and scored seven more points. In Miami, Leclerc finished second behind Max Verstappen, but there was little else to criticise about that.

Leclerc loses many points

Then the misery started for Leclerc and his men. In Spain, an almost certain victory was thrown away. Leclerc not only wastes 25 points for himself, Verstappen suddenly scores seven more than would otherwise have been the case. In Monaco, Leclerc finishes fourth after a dramatic strategy, while he was leading and could have won in the streets of Monte Carlo. The Ferrari driver lost thirteen points here and rival Verstappen scored fifteen points instead of twelve.

In Azerbaijan, it was incredibly close between Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. Leclerc went for a different strategy than the RB18s from P2, but he crashed out prematurely due to engine trouble. According to Ferrari, Leclerc could have won the race at the Baku circuit and so 25 points went up in smoke. Verstappen would otherwise have finished second and so scores eighteen points in this standings that weekend. In Canada, Leclerc's pit crew took a particularly long time to make a pit stop and he finished fifth instead of third. The fact that Leclerc wouldn't have even had to come from the back of the grid without engine problems is not taken into account.

In Britain, Carlos Sainz won the first Grand Prix of his Formula One career, but it should have been Leclerc who won. A lousy strategy ensured that the 2017 Formula 2 champion couldn't get any further than a P4. As a result, he loses thirteen points. Verstappen's points are not affected, as he finished behind Leclerc in seventh place after extensive damage to his car. In Austria, Leclerc's weekend was flawless again after a very long time.

(In this alternative World Cup standings, only the bad luck and problems of Leclerc and Ferrari are taken into account. Of course, Max Verstappen would also have won more points if he hadn't crashed out in Bahrain and Australia, but this is not taken into account.)

Alternative World Championship standings midway through 2022