Charles Leclerc 2019 F1 driver ratings: Every grand prix reviewed

Charles Leclerc 2019 ratings Part 3

Singapore GP (Qual: 1st – Race: 2nd) 9/10

Leclerc had the race in his palm. He backed up the field expertly in the opening laps, holding everyone back and preventing teams behind from using undercuts to snatch away his lead. Turns out, he should have been focusing on undercuts from within the team instead. A shame for Leclerc, who followed team orders to the letter and missed out on a hattrick of wins because of it.

Russian GP (Qual: 1st – Race: 3rd) 6/10

Two races ago, Charles Leclerc was the unflappable future face of Formula 1. Now, post Singapore and post Russia, he’s very much shown a different side. He moaned on radio for most of the race and couldn’t match the pace of either Vettel or Bottas.

Japanese GP (Qual: 2nd - Race: 6th) 6/10

Leclerc was perhaps put off by Vettel's jump-start ahead of him and made a similarly sluggish getaway before clumsily punting Verstappen off in the Esses. His subsequent running with parts of front wing spilling onto the track was irresponsible and the stewards clearly agreed, hitting Leclerc with 15 seconds worth of penalties to drop him a place in the classification.

Mexican GP (Qual: 1st - Race: 4th) 7/10

Ferrari's expectation that a two-stop strategy would be used by all of the front-runners saw Leclerc fail to convert pole position into victory for the fifth time this year as he gave up too much track position to fight back. As it turned out, fresher tyres mattered little as cars began to overheat when they got too close, seeing an anticipated barnstorming finish end in a damp squib.

United States GP (Qual: 4th - Race: 4th) 6/10

In Charles' own words, a "shit" race saw him struggle for initial pace like team-mate Vettel and he was rarely within 50 seconds of the leading cars as Ferrari's performance dramatically wilted in COTA, raising questions about how their previous strength had been achieved, at least with Max Verstappen.

Brazilian GP (Qual: 4th - Race: DNF) 6/10

Having started 14th on the grid thanks to an engine penalty, Leclerc sliced his way through the field and it looked like the race might come to him when Bottas' retirement gave him the chance to fit fresh tyres. His first task was overtaking Sebastian Vettel, however, and the collision between them left Ferrari scoreless for the first time since Singapore 2017.

Abu Dhabi GP (Qual: 3rd - Race: 3rd) 7/10

Leclerc might have been in a much better place had Ferrari's qualifying gamble not backfired, but he tried to make up for it with a rapid start and raced Verstappen hard in a battle for second place behind the untouchable Hamilton. Kept hold of his podium, despite a pre-race discovery of a fuel irregularity, which gave Leclerc's race an interesting aura as he faced a potential disqualification, which did not arrive, thankfully for him.

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