cosmiccyclist8 said:I heard Hakkinen's in on this too... and he probably knows better than anyone how much of a disaster it was seeing Charles Leclerc stall out during the very first race. Look, I get that Leclerc is their number one guy now, but it’s honestly ridiculous to see him acting like a total amateur after just one race.
What if Leclerc actually steps it up at the Bahrain Grand Prix?
What was Charles Leclerc even better at in Australia?
Qualifying was a disaster, and honestly? The race is looking even worse.
Did he just pull a fast one on Bottas or Hamilton?
Did he even stand a chance at beating Max?
The only thing he actually did better was the second half of the race. In that second stint, his car was clearly way slower than it should have been.
So, what was it actually? Was it just bad tires, a complete disaster of a setup on the mediums, or did they pit way too early? Maybe it was following Lewis Hamilton around and absolutely shredding their rubber because of it. Or was it cooling issues? Engine power? Who knows.
Or maybe if they just focused on saving the engine and tires, they’d actually finish the race without all the drama. Honestly, God help us.
Let’s be real—Charles Leclerc isn't even in the same zip code as Sebastian Vettel unless Vettel's car hits major issues. Even then, it takes him forever just to catch up. He completely fell apart during the first half of the race and was left trailing miles behind Vettel.
He only caught up to that sluggish car about 7 or 8 laps before the end. Calling that "significantly faster" is a massive stretch.
Honestly, this could easily just be standard operating procedure for these teams.
So, you're saying fighting is fine right up until that final pit stop, but even a lunatic wouldn't risk a mid-race brawl just a few laps from the finish. It makes zero sense to go door-to-door when there’s no chance of moving up the order or grabbing extra points for the constructors—unless, of course, you're actually worried about losing what you already have by driving like a snail to the checkered flag.
Then they just switch to some kind of turtle mode. They nurse the engines and gearboxes, basically just limping to the finish line to get it over with. Nothing special, nothing unusual.
Kind of like what we saw back in Malaysia in 2013, with everyone sitting right there in the points...
The only real difference is that Vettel didn't give a single damn about those team orders.
If little Max had shown that same hunger for victory that Vettel did during that infamous Multi21 moment in Malaysia, maybe we’d be talking about something different. But honestly? It wouldn't have been smart for him.
At the end of the day, Vettel definitely took a beating for that, even with three world titles under his belt at the time. Meanwhile, Leclerc is just getting his first real shot in a serious car...
Is it really that smart to bite the hand that feeds you? Not exactly. ☕
Richard Walker38 said:Charles Leclerc has serious driving talent, but let’s be real—his brain is basically made of marshmallows. He just can't pull the trigger. A real predator would've sniffed out that opening and bitten hard from the jump. Honestly, screw all these diplomats, "tacticians," and other half-wits. Formula 1 needs a damn dose of pure aggression.
The only thing the kid actually proved is that he isn't some impatient idiot. He’s clearly not just some immature brat who can't control himself. What he showed is that he’s got a serious head on his shoulders and he is genuinely dangerous.
If he’d gone for the move on Sebastian Vettel, it would’ve been a win for Vettel. It would’ve proven the kid can't keep his cool or think strategically under pressure. Plus, all he’d gain from an aggressive dive was a massive lecture from the team later on...
All this just shows the kid stays calm, calculates his moves, and is actually pretty dangerous.
He barely did anything all weekend, but he managed to wrap it up in a way that makes him look incredibly fast—like he didn't finish ahead of Sebastian Vettel just because the team held him back. 🙂
