Italian motorsport journalist hails Charles Leclerc: “The one one who can problem Verstappen”

Following the race on the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, an Italian motorsport journalist topped Charles Leclerc as the one actual rival to Max Verstappen, stating: “As quickly as he will get a very aggressive automobile, he’ll have the ability to combat on equal phrases.”

The 2025 United States Grand Prix as soon as once more confirmed what has lengthy been evident: Max Verstappen is competing in a league of his personal. In his post-race evaluation for the Italian press, the journalist described the Dutchman as “the most effective driver of all of them,” whereas figuring out Charles Leclerc as his solely actual challenger.

Oscar Piastri utterly “disappeared” over the Texas weekend, whereas Lando Norris — regardless of ending second — was unable to completely exploit the potential of his McLaren. The British driver took 9 laps within the first stint and fourteen within the second to get previous Leclerc, a delay that, in accordance with the journalist, is way too lengthy for somebody aiming to win the World Championship.

In a weekend the place McLaren seemed to be the favourite, Ferrari stunned everybody. For 37 of the 56 laps, Charles Leclerc saved the crimson SF-25 forward of each papaya McLarens and comfortably in entrance of the Mercedes vehicles.

“An enormous shock, lastly,” the Italian knowledgeable commented, describing Charles Leclerc as “the Texas acrobat” and praising his willpower, focus, and combating spirit when defending his place — even in opposition to Lewis Hamilton. His perspective, the journalist mentioned, mirrored that of a real group chief.

He additionally believes that Charles Leclerc is “very near Max Verstappen” by way of pure expertise. “As soon as he has a very aggressive automobile, he’ll have the ability to carry out at a stage similar to Verstappen’s,” the journalist remarked. The Monegasque’s third place in Austin, simply 15 seconds behind the Dutch champion, represented “an incredible increase of confidence.”

Lewis Hamilton, then again, nonetheless seems to be struggling barely. His fourth-place end left him unhappy, and the journalist famous that he “remains to be discovering it tough to match his teammate’s tempo and to carry out at his finest.” Nevertheless, if Ferrari has actually understood how one can handle the tire working window, “the race in Mexico will likely be lots of enjoyable.”

Oct 21, 2025Alex Marino

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