Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson believes that Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is the fastest driver on the grid over one lap.
The Monegasque driver has a big 2024 ahead of him to prove Ferrari made the right choice maintaining their faith in him before Lewis Hamilton arrives next year.
Speaking on commentary on Sky Sports during pre-season testing, Davidson shared what he loves about watching the 26-year-old.
Davidson thinks Leclerc is fastest driver over one lap
Pre-season testing in Bahrain has provided plenty of information on where each team stands before lights out in Sahkir next weekend.
Unsurprisingly, Red Bull appear to have the fastest car on the grid after Max Verstappen’s exceptional mammoth stint on day one.
However, Ferrari will be pleased that they managed to top the timing sheets on Thursday, albeit up against Sergio Perez who was doing long simulation runs.
We will only know exactly where each team stands once qualifying begins in Bahrain.
Davidson has a lot of faith that over one lap Charles Leclerc could get the better of Max Verstappen.
It’s an opinion he shares with Martin Brundle and last season, he secured the most pole positions of any driver outside of Red Bull.
However, the Ferrari wasn’t quick enough over a full race distance and he was unable to convert any of his first-place starts into race wins.
Leclerc a demon in qualifying
Speaking about the 26-year-old, Davidson said: “He’ll just carry on doing what he does, driving super quick.
“I think he’ll learn from Lewis [Hamilton]. I think he could be faster than Lewis in qualifying in his own team.
“He speaks the language, he’s well integrated into that team. We all know how quick Charles is.
“I’d even go as far as to say that Charles is now the fastest driver over one lap.
“Sometimes he gets it wrong, he goes too far. He likes setting up the car super pointy, he’s admitted that himself and sometimes goes too far but I love watching him drive.”
Davidson’s admission that Leclerc does set up his car to concentrate on his single lap pace might explain why he earned so many pole positions in 2023 without being able to turn those starts into wins.
It was teammate Carlos Sainz who stood on the top step of the podium in Singapore after a phenomenal drive.
Hamilton will be keeping a close eye on how his future teammate gets on before he joins the iconic Italian team.
While Leclerc might be rapid on a Saturday, Red Bull appear to have built another car that may prove impossible to beat with Verstappen at the wheel.
The post ‘Love watching him drive’: Sky pundit admits ‘super quick’ driver is even faster than Verstappen over one lap appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
