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Vasseur on whether Hamilton and Leclerc can beat Max Verstappen F1

Vasseur expects Ferrari to be championship contenders: 'It's encouraging!'

3 January at 21:00
Last update 3 January at 21:50
  • Cas van de Kleut

Charles Leclerc's dream came true in 2024 when he won the Monaco Grand Prix, a victory that had long been a personal goal. However, there’s still one major dream every driver shares that Leclerc has yet to achieve: becoming world champion. In the 2024 season, both Leclerc and his team, Ferrari, got off to a slower start, which ultimately hindered their chances of fighting for the title. Despite this, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur remains optimistic about Leclerc’s form. 

While much of the talk this year focused on a potential title battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc also had an impressive second half of the season. In addition to his victory in Monaco earlier in the year, the Monegasque driver went on to win both the Italian Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix in Texas. Furthermore, Leclerc stood on the podium five times in the second half of the season, underlining his strong form and consistency.

Can Ferrari beat Verstappen?

The Ferrari proved to be a strong contender after the summer break. When asked by Sky Sports whether he believed he could provide Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with a car capable of challenging Max Verstappen, team principal Frederic Vasseur responded: "Yeah, if you have a look this season, I think Charles scored the biggest number of points after Monza or something like this. It means that when we start to react and to start to do a better job on our side, it means that everything is possible. It's just a matter of putting everything together to minimise the number of mistakes."

The team boss continued, "It's true that on the season, the long season, 24 events, we have always up and down. But what is positive for us is that we had a tough journey around June, July, and as a team, we were able to react and to react quickly, and this is encouraging for the future."

This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon

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