Is Charles Leclerc still in the running to win the 2024 World Drivers’ Champion title?
Mathematically only, with 146 points still at stake in F1 2024, the top five drivers in the championship, i.e. MaxVerstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz are not yet officially out of the race.
Of course, the points ranking reads differently in reality, once the correct context is applied. In reality, even Leclerc’s prospects, third and winner in the United States, are extraordinarily slim ahead of the start of the Mexican Grand Prix.
Read also: The starting grid for the 2024 F1 Mexican Grand Prix
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Leclerc trails Verstappen by 79 points – just three race wins, each worth 25 points – remaining. He would therefore have to surpass the Red Bull driver by 16 points per race until the end of the year, which is really very improbable. At the same time he would also have to overtake Norris.
Building on his recent victories at Monza and Austin, Leclerc can however consider catching up with the McLaren driver for the runner-up place in the championship, Norris having “only” 22 points ahead of him. As for the Ferrari team, which is 48 points behind McLaren, it can still entertain the hope of winning its first Constructors’ World Champion title in 16 years.
The first answer will be given this evening, at the end of the Mexican Grand Prix, of which Ferrari is starting in a good position, with Carlos Sainz in pole position and Charles Leclerc fourth on the grid, while Red Bull and McLaren do not count only one car each in the leading positions, Oscar Piastri and Sergio Pérez having only achieved 17th and 18th positions respectively at the end of qualifying.
Also read: Sainz wants to “finish the job” before leaving Ferrari
