Is Charles Leclerc READY to be F1 World Champion？

Is Charles Leclerc ready to be F1 World Champion? Oh boy, if you had told me after three races of this season that the championship would be over with four races to go, I would have most likely assumed with my fanboy tinted glasses on that Charles Leclerc had become world champion. Let me take you back to my tweet where I was saying I didn't want Leclerc to win with eight races to go. But no, it was in fact Max Verstappen that had turned over a 46 point deficit after Australia to secure the title before we've even reached the circuit of the Americas. Now I want to explore this topic even if it might hurt me to do so. Charles Leclerc, is he truly ready to be world champion yet? I think it's quite a complex situation and not a simple matter of yes or no. Let's take a look at the positives first. There is no doubt that Leclerc has blistering one lap pace. He's had nine pole positions this season and cannot be questioned on whether he can deliver over one lap, that's for sure. Overall in his career, he's had 18 pole positions and only five victories. I think it's safe to say that he has outperformed the car on Saturdays on some occasions and just not had the race package on Sunday, especially last year. Like how on earth was that Ferrari on pole twice? Well, I guess one of them was kind of red flagged. But anyway, moving on. I think it is clear that he can become world champion. He would have won a lot more races this year if his Ferrari hadn't exploded on him or been let down by his team's awful strategies at times. But if after taking all of this into account, I'd change the question to is Charles Leclerc ready to take on the likes of Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton in equal-ish machinery, two of the best drivers we've also seen for a very long time? The answer for this part, I have to say, is not quite. The ruthlessness and insane consistency the pair of them have shown in the sport is something very hard to break down. I believe the side of Charles Leclerc that needs to be improved upon is his selfishness, the ability to recognise that Ferrari haven't been good enough this season for him, that he won't be silenced when talking to the media, and that he will not accept anything less than perfection from his team. I mean, just look at how Max Verstappen reacted after Singapore qualifying when his team messed up on the fuel loads. Yeah, people criticised him for that reaction, but also look at how little mistakes Red Bull have made this season with decision making. Hardly any. That's also what the likes of Michael Schumacher did in the past, and just look how successful he was. There is no way he would have accepted his team boss at the time waving his finger at him after the disaster class that was Silverstone, where Ferrari screwed Leclerc by not pitting him under the safety car. I guess in a roundabout sort of way, I'm saying Charles is just too nice. Now, I don't want him to start being horrible. I'm pretty sure that's impossible for him, but being able to whip a team into shape as the lead driver is crucial. The Ferrari way has always been that the team is more important than any driver, and it's a really difficult mentality to fight against, but Schumacher overcame it, and the records speak for itself. Another thing I think Leclerc has to improve on, and probably has learnt the hard way this season especially, is that the team isn't always right. Now, he shouldn't have to take the race into his own hands at times, but with some of the very questionable decisions Ferrari has made this year, he needs to. Think of the amount of times Mercedes have said a strategy option to Lewis Hamilton on the radio, and he's challenged them, or simply gone against what they've said because of how he's feeling in the car. That's world champion mentality right there. I think a lot of this will come with experience though. Whether that be through more time spent fighting for a world championship, or from having his heart broken so many times by Ferrari that he finally snaps. Leclerc undoubtedly is having the time of his life driving for such a prestigious team as Ferrari, and I imagine feels incredibly grateful for the opportunity. However, he also needs to recognise that Ferrari are massively lucky to have a generational talent such as him on their side, and that they're not going to fire him if he whips them into shape, because my god do they need it. There you have it, a look into whether Charles Leclerc is ready to be world champion. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.