ALL aboard the Charles Leclerc hype train.
The Ferrari star, 24, has aced the start to this new Formula One era with two victories in the opening three races.
The latest on Sunday came in emphatic style in Melbourne, where Leclerc was on pole, took the win, led for every lap — and set the fastest lap to earn a championship bonus point.
The man from Monte Carlo now stands at the top of the rankings, with a 34-point lead over George Russell.
That is a bigger gap than Max Verstappen had at any stage last year over Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc’s arrival is catching people’s interest — but for those who have followed his career it is not unexpected.
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Unlike those who move to Monaco for the tax benefits, Leclerc was actually born in Monte Carlo. He won the GP3 series in 2016 and then followed that up the next year by winning the F2 title at the first attempt.
As part of his association to the Ferrari Academy, he had test-driver roles at Haas and Sauber before being handed a spot with Alfa Romeo.
Leclerc’s story is also laced with tragedy, which has shaped his character.
His father, Herve, who was a racer himself, died in 2017, aged 54. Just four days later, Leclerc won the feature race in F2 in Azerbaijan.
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He was also godson to Jules Bianchi, who died in 2015 as a result of injuries he suffered at the Japanese GP the previous year.
Leclerc has the talent, he also has the right mindset.
The main difference now is he also has the car.
He had a tendency to make mistakes but those were as a result of being required to over-drive.
Now Leclerc does not need to overstretch — as we saw in Australia. The big question is, can Ferrari maintain their own place at the front of the development race?
After all, no driver has ever won the F1 title without having an excellent car — no matter how good they are.
Full Monty
Pierre Gasly will go along with F1’s latest bling ban as well as checks for “non-conforming” underwear.
The AlphaTauri ace said: “If they want to check my a***, I’ve nothing to hide. My c***, everything. Feel free.”
No Stroll in the park
The Australian GP turned out to be a ‘turtle’ disaster for Aston Martin.
A summary of the big-spenders owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
Sebastian Vettel has an engine problem. His car catches fire and he cops a €5,000 fine for using a scooter to get back to the garage.
Vettel is also fined €600 for speeding in the pitlane, while Lance Stroll smashes into Nicholas Latifi, earning him more penalty points on his licence.
Vettel crashed in the race and Stroll finished outside the points as Aston Martin became the ONLY team not to score in the opening three races of the season.
On top of this, champion Verstappen says the Aston Martin safety car is too slow, calling it a “turtle”.
Evans is almighty
DsTecheetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne fears Mitch Evans’ dominance at the Rome E-Prix was a warning.
Kiwi Evans won BOTH races and Vergne, who leads the standings, feels his position is threatened.
He said: “The Jaguar and Mitch were too fast.
“I hope that was a one-off, otherwise it might be difficult to beat them.”
Jean-Eric Vergne is wary of Mitch Evans’ speed
Marc of a champ
It is impossible not to respect Marc Marquez’s fightback from last to sixth at COTA — three weeks after his accident at the Indonesian GP.
The six-time MotoGP champion was heroic after his shunt in Mandalika.
He said: “My target was to try and not to have any crashes because I’m still scared about my head.”
Marc Marquez suffered a horror crash last month
