Leclerc and Verstappen have been stalked and the stalkers so far in 2022.
- Charles Leclerc still leads the championship standings leaving Miami as he has since he won the first race of the season.
- Max Verstappen has been chipping away and drew closer to the top spot in driver points with a win Sunday.
- Red Bull Racing has two DNFs this season, however, and another for Verstappen could spell disaster.
In a sense, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has been moving in unfamiliar territory thus far in the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Instead of constantly being behind or chasing guys like defending series champ Max Verstappen or seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc has been the driver that Verstappen, Hamilton and all of the other F1 drivers have been chasing this season.
Since winning the season-opening race, the Monte Carlo native has become the hunted rather than what he’s been the last four seasons—namely, the hunter.
He’s held the points lead since this season’s first race and, while defending series champ Max Verstappen has been closing the gap—winning three of the next four events, including Sunday’s victory in the inaugural Miami Grand Prix—Leclerc is still the man in demand, so to speak.
“We’ve been in only one position since the beginning of the season, which means we’re hunted for now,” Leclerc conceded when asked by Autoweek. “I quite like this position, to be honest, because it means you’re doing something right.”
But there’s also been a negative: Verstappen has been steadily eating away at Leclerc’s points advantage. Leclerc led Verstappen by 27 points heading into Miami; that gap is now just 19 points, as Verstappen now owns wins in three of the first five races while Leclerc owns the other two triumphs.
“It is also true that in two races, the gap is slowly closing down,” Leclerc said. “I don’t really mind, to be honest, what position I’m in. I just want to be the most competitive out there.”
And even though he remains atop the F1 driver standings, Leclerc is also a realist, given Verstappen’s recent success, saying, “At the moment, it seems Red Bull has the upper hand in the races.”
Verstappen, meanwhile, is in a much more familiar position than Leclerc in the sense he knows what it’s like to stalk, as well as being the guy who is stalked, especially as last year’s championship battle wound down to the dramatic end.
“I like, of course, the position I’m in at the moment, knowing the car is quick,” Verstappen told Autoweek. “For example, at the end of last year, I was the one who was being hunted, and I was actually not in a great position because I knew we didn’t have the pace anymore, I knew it was going to be very tricky to the end. It just depends on how competitive you are, as well.”
Even with his series-leading three wins, Verstappen isn’t getting over-confident. He may seem like he’s driving near-perfect, but he’ll be the first to admit he’s still a ways from perfection.
“We still have a few issues we have to solve,” Verstappen said. “We were quick, but my Friday was terrible, which is not great if you want to have a good weekend. Clearly, there is a lot of potential—we just have to make sure it’s reliable.”
And let’s not forget the two races Verstappen did not win both ended in DNFs. If those had not happened, he potentially would be on top—and back to being the hunted once again.
Leclerc led from pole in Miami but was passed by Verstappen who went on to win.
Mark ThompsonGetty Images
Leclerc had a couple chances to pull close to Verstappen on Sunday, particularly late in the race, but couldn’t get it done.
“I thought we had a shot to take back the lead, but it wasn’t enough,” he said. “It’s just the characteristics of both cars. Red Bull is quick in the straights, while we are quite quick in the medium and high speed.
“Today, I was quite surprised we were struggling quite a bit more than they were in the slow speed corners. That was a weakness in the medium tires and needs to be looked at.”
F1 Miami Grand Prix Results
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 57 laps
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +3.7 seconds
- Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari, +8.2
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull, +10.6
- George Russell, Mercedes, +18.5
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +21.3
- Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, +25.0
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine, +28.3
- Fernando Alonso, Alpine, +32.1
- Alexander Albon, Williams, +32.3
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +37.0
- Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, +40.1
- Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, +40.9
- Nicholas Latifi, Williams, +49.9
- Mick Schumacher, Haas, +1:13.3
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas, +1 lap
- Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, +3 laps
- Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, +12 laps
- Lando Norris, McLaren, +18 laps
- Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo, +51 laps
Keyword: F1 Drivers Leclerc and Verstappen Are Both the Hunters and the Hunted