‘Only driver who can compete with Verstappen’ named, and it’s not Norris

There’s only one driver on the Formula 1 grid who could compete with Max Verstappen in equal machinery, and that’s Charles Leclerc.

That’s according to former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese, who says Lando Norris may be the new World Champion, but the Ferrari driver is the only one on the same level as Verstappen.

Riccardo Patrese: Even if the new champion is called Norris…

Seven years into his Ferrari stay, Leclerc has yet to challenge for a Drivers’ Championship title.

He joined the Scuderia in 2019, in the final years of the Mercedes era, where his new Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton dominated in Mercedes colours.

Red Bull and Verstappen were the ones to eventually bring Mercedes’ reign to an end as the Dutch racer beat Hamilton in a wheel-to-wheel battle for the 2021 title. And so began the Verstappen era.

That too, though, has ended with McLaren and Norris winning the double this season, Norris taking the title by two points ahead of Verstappen.

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Leclerc, despite finishing twice on the season’s podium – in 2022 behind Verstappen, and 2024 when he trailed Verstappen and Norris – has yet to launch a genuine title challenge as even in his runner-up season, he was a massive 146 points down on Verstappen.

But according to former driver Patrese, the blame doesn’t belong with Leclerc, it’s on Ferrari, yet to give him a car that’s capable of challenging for the World title.

In fact, such is the 71-year-old’s belief in Leclerc, he says the six-time Grand Prix winner is the only driver who could compete against Verstappen.

“Where would the surprise be?” he told Italian journalist Leo Turrini.

“Even if the new champion is called Norris, the only driver out there who could compete with Verstappen, who is an absolute phenomenon, is Carletto.

“He always fights for it, because of the Scuderia, he never had the right car. Charles is hungry for triumphs. I understand his frustration, the few times he makes mistakes depends on his tremendous desire.”

As for Leclerc’s teammate Hamilton, the Italian is convinced that given the right car, the seven-time World Champion could fight for his record-breaking eighth. An eighth that Patrese believes he should already have.

“Lewis is the driver who has broken all records in F1, he has won seven World Championships which would then be eight because we all know how he was taken away from the eighth title in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

“You have to give someone like that a competitive car, otherwise it will come apart. Put Lewis in a Ferrari at least close to the strongest team and you’ll see that he is still fighting for it.”

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