F1 journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm has picked out one driver who could repeat Max Verstappen’s 2020 season this year.
Verstappen finished third in that particular championship behind Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
And speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Mitchell-Malm has suggested a similar campaign could be in store for another driver this term.
Verstappen won two Grands Prix that year, the first at Silverstone and the second at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
He stood on the podium 11 times overall, and he came home behind directly behind Hamilton and Bottas on three occasions.
The Dutchman ultimately finished just nine points adrift of Bottas in the standings, even though the W11 had won 13 of the 17 events.
Outside the Silver Arrows, he was the only driver on the grid to score more than 125 points.
Charles Leclerc told he may face Max Verstappen experience this year
Mitchell-Malm has predicted that Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc may find himself in a similar position in 2024.
After coming home fourth behind teammate Carlos Sainz in Bahrain, he followed Verstappen and Sergio Perez over the line in Jeddah.
The Scuderia look to have the advantage in the ‘best of the rest’ battle right now, putting Leclerc in a good position to finish third in the championship.
Mitchell-Malm said (21:00): “I’ve got a little bit of a vibe of Verstappen’s 2020 season.
“If Ferrari is as good through the year as the first couple of races have suggested, then it should be second best a lot more often than last season.
“I would expect Leclerc to be the person occupying that third step of the podium through the year, or a Ferrari driver certainly.”
Will Leclerc win a race this year?
Leclerc is confident that Ferrari will be able to put more ‘pressure’ on Red Bull as the season progresses.
He’s hoping to end a victory drought that goes back to the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.
Of the drivers in the top three teams in last year’s constructions’ championship, only Hamilton, who hasn’t won since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, had had to wait longer to stand on the top step.
Teammate Sainz, who will make way for Hamilton in 2025, stopped Red Bull completing a clean sweep by winning in Singapore last year.
The closest Leclerc came was finishing runner-up at the Austrian, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
Based on the first two races, he’ll have to wait until next year at the very least until he’s able to mount a serious title challenge.
He had the opportunity do in 2022 but Red Bull director Helmut Marko says individual and strategic errors cost him.
Still, counterpart Esteban Ocon believes that he and Verstappen are the two most naturally-talented drivers on the grid.
The post ‘I would expect’: 26-year-old star told he could now emulate 2020 Max Verstappen season this year - journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.