For the third time this season, Formula 1 legend Damon Hill has attempted to predict how the podium will look, this time at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hill unsuccessfully suggested that Max Verstappen wouldn’t win the Bahrain Grand Prix, while also thinking Carlos Sainz would seal back-to-back victories in Japan.
Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Hill has been slightly more conservative with his predictions this time around.
For the first time since 2021, Formula 1 might finally have two teams capable of challenging for race wins.
While Red Bull once again dominated in Japan, Ferrari have closed the gap and Sainz is in the form of his life.
Charles Leclerc will feel he has a point to prove too and after two difficult qualifying sessions in a row, he has two opportunities to rediscover his best form in Shanghai.
The first Sprint Race of the season will create some jeopardy as drivers will only have an hour of practice at a track they haven’t visited in five years before jumping into a meaningful session.
Despite that, Hill doesn’t think the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix is going to throw up too many surprises.
The circuit still very much suits Red Bull and Verstappen in his limited previous visits has shown how well-suited his driving style is to the track.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Damon Hill makes his podium prediction for the Chinese Grand Prix
Asked who will win the Sprint Race and finish in the top three, Hill said: “I don’t think you can go away from Max [Verstappen] for the Sprint and also to win the race.
“I’m going to throw one of the Ferraris, let’s say Charles [Leclerc] because I think that Carlos [Sainz] has had quite a lot of good form, so I think that Charles is possibly second place for the Grand Prix and then Checo [Perez].”
Charles Leclerc needs a confidence boost after suggestions he doesn’t feel completely comfortable with Ferrari’s 2024 car yet.
He only started 8 in Japan but executed a perfect strategy in Japan to briefly run in the top three at Suzuka.
However, Sainz nailed qualifying and as a result, was four places higher up on the grid.
It meant he could run a much faster strategy and eventually was allowed to pass by the Monegasque driver to take his place in the top three alongside both Red Bull drivers.
Hill now thinks Leclerc could be the man to finish on the podium with Verstappen and Perez at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix.
It’s an ambitious prediction considering just how fast his Spaniard teammate is right now.
Charles Leclerc has something to prove after Ferrari put his faith in him – opinion
When it was announced that Lewis Hamilton would be heading to Ferrari, it was only several weeks after Charles Leclerc had committed to a new long-term deal with the team.
It was a bitter blow for Carlos Sainz but the Spaniard has taken it in his stride and made Leclerc’s decent performances this season look very ordinary.
Former driver Thierry Boutsen has highlighted that the 26-year-old – who debuted with Sauber in 2018 – is still capable of driving some magic races.
However, Jacques Villeneuve believes he’s not shown that he’s capable of being a world champion just yet and that could be an issue for when Hamilton arrives.
If Leclerc can finish on the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix as Hill predicts, then that will do him a world of good and give him the confidence boost he desperately needs.
The post ‘I’m going to throw’: Damon Hill predicts 2018 debutant to join Red Bulls on Chinese Grand Prix podium appeared first on F1 Oversteer.