Just about a year ago, everyone thought Max Verstappen had a new title challenger in the new era of F1. It looked quite great to see Charles Leclerc battle with the Dutch world champion. But, as the year progressed, Max and his team pummeled through into the championship lead. Meanwhile, Leclerc was left reeling with his struggling team at Ferrari. Although, as the 2023 season comes closer, Verstappen is aware of the threat from Leclerc and the Scuderia. Yet, he may be joining the “Everyone is a Ferrari fan” club with his recent positive statements about Ferrari’s strong 2023 title challenge.

Speaking to Motorsport Italy at Red Bull’s launch in NYC, Max said, “It’s difficult to say. I don’t have any understanding of how they [Ferrari] are improving the car. [I] guess time will tell. I mean, they’re an amazing team.” [translated via Google]

Verstappen knows how Frederic Vasseur has taken over the team boss role at Maranello. But he also feels that the team already is on a development path before Vasseur took control. He said, “Sure, there has been a change, but at the end of the day, I think they had already defined the direction they wanted to work in and they wanted to improve the car and the engine department.”

Max concluded, “So I still expect them to continue that path and they will definitely be strong opponents. ” The Red Bull driver shall be worried about his resurgent rival Charles Leclerc challenging him this year. Yet, it’s great that he is up for a close fight.

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It wasn’t a close title battle, but Ferrari has cited how they know what aspects they need to improve about the car. On Charles’ part, he needs to iron out some of the mistakes he did last season to stand up firmly against Max. If the driver-team pairing can do so, Leclerc and Ferrari could break the door open this year.

Can Charles Leclerc and Ferrari overcome the mammoth Max Verstappen?

Charles Leclerc knew his title challenge was done and dusted when he spun out of the lead in France last year. The Monegasque may have kept saying otherwise. But deep down, he knew he wasn’t catching Max Verstappen.

Regardless, Ferrari also took the hard call to switch over to their 2023 car development post-France. As Max said, the Italian team had already chosen their development path and planned for this year. Now, with the season about to start, can they improve on the several mistakes they did last year?

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There are positive signs coming from Maranello. Ferrari is looking to resolve its Achilles’ Heel of pit stop errors and delays. They have set themselves a specific target for 1000 pitstops before the season-opener in Bahrain. Time will tell if the Scuderia can improve its pit stops. But it’s encouraging to see the team making improvement efforts.

Besides this, Fred Vasseur also cited how they have resolved their engine reliability issues. While he denied any power gains, if Ferrari can run a reliable engine in a higher mode, there are chances Leclerc can fight Verstappen more effectively.

Even Leclerc needs to get into a zone to avoid any unforced errors like last year. His driving errors at Imola and Paul-Ricard in 2022 cost him dearly. While one race retirement worth points can be recovered, it kills the winning momentum. Therefore, Charles needs to ensure he does not let his season momentum break amid a good run of results.

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As the countdown starts for the 2023 season, Max Verstappen would be itching to get a stronger challenger from Charles Leclerc. We shall see if Ferrari’s improvement initiatives prove to be effective in their performance or not. But if they can, let’s keep our fingers crossed for a titanic championship battle this year! Who shall you support – Verstappen or Leclerc?