GPToday.net's 2019 F1 driver rankings - #7 - Charles Leclerc

Going into the 2019 season, there was a lot of pressure put on Charles Leclerc, as many questioned whether he could keep up with Sebastian Vettel. Nobody was doubting his talents, but as we saw with Pierre Gasly the pressure of being in a top team can prove to be too much to handle.

Ferrari had chosen the Monégasque driver instead of the very experienced and consistent Kimi Raikkonen. These were big shoes to fill after only one year in the sport, but Leclerc definitely managed it.

From the get-go in Melbourne he was on the pace of his much more experienced teammate, finishing only one second behind him in the race. Leclerc was told by the team not to try and overtake, so who knows what could have happened.

Just one race later in Bahrain, he really showed the world what he was capable of. He scored his first pole position to secure a Ferrari front-row lockout, and then was in complete control of the race after passing Vettel on track.

He was set for his maiden victory until he lost all electrical power from his power unit, a loss of around 160bhp. Due to a well-timed safety car he managed to hold on to third, but with his performance he deserved nothing less than the win.

Leclerc was far from perfect however as he had his fair share of problems. Early on in the season in Baku, he was one of, if not the favourite for pole position. However, a mistake meant that he locked up and crashed his SF90 in Q2, ending any hope of pole of the race win. He was very critical of himself for the incident, a trait which we saw throughout the year.

Just a couple of races later at his home Grand Prix in Monaco, Leclerc had his worst weekend of the year. A strategy cock-up by Ferrari in qualifying meant that he was eliminated in Q1, which is exactly the opposite of what you need in Monaco.

Overtaking in the race was always going to be difficult, but after a couple of good moves he became reckless. This recklessness ended up in retirement after a botched pass on Hulkenberg proved too much for his car to cope with.

Aside from these mistakes, Leclerc has overall been mighty on a Saturday. The former GP2 champion scored the most poles out of any driver on the grid, an impressive feat when Lewis Hamilton is in the field.

With more and more pressure mounting on Vettel to perform at his best, if Leclerc is able to have an even stronger, more consistent year in 2020 then he could be the one to seal the fate of his teammate.

Leclerc's best moment of 2019: Brilliance at Monza

If there was ever a time that you needed to perform when driving a Ferrari, it’s at the Italian Grand Prix in front of the Tifosi. Leclerc was put under an immense amount of pressure by both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas but held his nerve to take his second victory and his surely most special to date.

Leclerc's worst moment of 2019: Crashing out in Monaco

Starting from P16, it was always going to be a challenge for Leclerc to even score points, never mind anything higher. However, after a very impressive move on Romain Grosjean, he became reckless with his overtakes. It seemed as if he was in a rush to get to the front, going for moves that most would not even think about. This backfired, as a failed move on Nico Hulkenberg put him out of his home race.

Race Ratings
 

Driver Rankings

#20 - Robert Kubica

#19 - Antonio Giovinazzi

#18 - Pierre Gasly

#17 - Romain Grosjean

#16 - Lance Stroll

#15 - Kevin Magnussen

#14 - Kimi Raikkonen

#13 - Daniil Kvyat

#12 - Nico Hulkenberg

#11 - Sebastian Vettel

#10 - George Russell

#9 - Daniel Ricciardo

#8 - Sergio Perez