F1, Berger bets on Charles Leclerc: his predictions

A few more steps to take, but a very important future ahead.

Charles Leclerc can truly become world champion with Ferrari: the word of Gerhard Berger. The Austrian, who raced for the Cavallino in the late 1980s and mid-1990s, analyzed the growth of Maranello’s current standard bearer, explaining how the time for the definitive leap forward is, in his opinion, already ripe.

“Both he and Carlos Sainz are very strong,” Berger explained to the ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’. Leclerc was very fast in 2022, but it seemed to me that he is still going through a learning phase. Instead, this year I think he is ready for a further step forward. He is now fully mature, and also at a possible turning point in his career.”

“I currently consider Leclerc to be at the same level of experience as Max Verstappen. He can fight for the title if Ferrari provides him with the right car,” Berger added. “But the conditions to be highly competitive are there this year.

“Back in 2022 Ferrari’s was the best engine on the grid. However, there have been some reliability problems, and above all some errors in strategy that have had a great weight. However, these are issues that can be corrected, and if it happens Leclerc can play it out until the end,” Berger concluded.