On the basis of pure performance, there has been very little to choose between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen this season. But on the basis of championship points, the gap is already vast.
With three of this year’s 23 races complete, Leclerc has a 46-point lead over Verstappen — a margin larger than either Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton had over one another at any point in last year’s championship battle.
The reason for the gap is clear. Two retirements from second place — the most recent of which came on lap 38 of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix — means Verstappen has sacrificed at least 36 points to Leclerc through reliability in just three races. Give him those back, plus a point for fastest lap here or there, and the gap between the two would be in single figures.
The missed opportunities are not lost on either Verstappen or Red Bull.
“We are already miles behind,” Verstappen said after retiring on Sunday. “I don’t even want to think about the championship fight at the moment,…
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