FORMULA 1 : LECLERC – A LEGITIMATE TITLE CONTENDER? PART 2

The seeds were sown in Australia. Leclerc was ready. Neither the machine nor the team was though. It was inevitable? The writing was on the track?

During the 2018 season, we saw a Ferrari that was brutally fast. At Spa, Hamilton was mutilated. Like Alice, he was trapped in Wonderland, puzzled by the Ferrari’s inherent ability to render the Mercedes AMG machine motionless! Hamilton was not amused.

At the 2019 Bahrain GP, in less than 10 laps, Leclerc forced F1 fans to concede that a new sheriff is in town. Leclerc blitz the pack in Qualifying – giving Ferrari the coveted front row. And in Bahrain, despite being shoved initially, he recovered, dismantled the Australian GP’s winner, Bottas and then humiliated his 4-times world champion team-mate Vettel!

In Bahrain, Leclerc wielded an intriguing  machine. A machine which willingly catered  to his quest for supremacy. Leclerc was the class act in Bahrain, maintaining a gratifying time gap to P2. But, even the best laid plans are subjected to unforeseen designs. But wait.

VETTEL

I am willing to advance arguments to support the theory that Lewis Hamilton is Vettel’s kryptonite! Hamilton rejoices whenever threats are hurled at his dominance in the sport.

Vettel, at present, is engaged in a precarious endeavor. In 2018 we saw his best opportunity to capsize Hamilton’s vessel. He choked and allowed immaturity to excel. The Ferrari was better than the Mercedes. In 2019, based on the revelation in Bahrain, it is obvious that Ferrari has graduated from catch-up university.

Is Vettel the lead driver? He has abandoned the portfolio? He lost in qualifying and even though he left his team-mate at the line, he was passed on-track, by a focused, inspired driver.  No pit-stop pass required!

And when Hamilton appeared, Vettel’s fortunes, like a river encountering limestone rock,  plunged into oblivion! Remember, kryptonite!

So #1 was outpaced by the assigned #2. #1 fell into the defending world champion’s clutches and it cannot be argued that the fracas, like a Jamaican by-election,  was hotly contested. Hamilton, the king of mind-games, knows he won the psychological war with Vettel long ago.

So as soon as Vettel was locked in the AMG’s crosshairs, Hamilton, the despot, ordered the execution. Vettel not only lost the position when Hamilton’s missile sped by, he, somehow accomplished a bloodless revolution(360) when what he needed was decisive retaliation! It was embarrassing!

FERRARI

For reasons Ferrari might conceal, lol, Leclerc’s maiden victory was delayed. As stated earlier, no one had an answer for Leclerc and the discomfort was evident. Remember Toto’s constantly expanding grin when Bottas won? Well, despite Hamilton winning, that grin, like money given to an addict, disappeared!

It was replaced by nervous, unsettled, displaced facial expressions – uncertainty laced with nervous apprehension. Toto was not half-aware, he was fully aware that Mercedes AMG dodged a bullet from the Monaco Connection!

Lewis Hamilton is  my type of driver. I have said that repeatedly. What we heard from Lewis Hamilton at the end of the GP, was what we heard from Hamilton at the end of the Belgian GP. Hamilton even walked around and scrutinized the Ferrari at Spa – he was that shell-shocked.

He won the Bahrain GP, but he now knows that 2019 might be his biggest challenge yet!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer