Hamilton: Lecerc is outperforming Vettel
Hamilton: Lecerc is outperforming Vettel
Lewis Hamilton credited Charles Leclerc for out-performing Sebastian Vettel in his first season as a Ferrari driver, admitting the Monegasque perhaps deserved two victories before sealing a maiden F1 race win at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Having seen previous efforts from pole position end in disappointment in Bahrain and Austria, Leclerc held on to win at Spa-Francorchamps amid late pressure from Hamilton.
It was Ferrari's first victory of a dismal 2019 so far, which saw Vettel have victory in Canada taken away from him by a penalty.
Although Vettel remains ahead of Leclerc in the drivers' standings, the younger driver has qualified ahead in each of the last six races.
And Hamilton paid tribute to Leclerc's ability to adapt to life in one of Formula 1's toastiest hot-seats alongside a multiple word champion.
"I think his results speak for themselves really," Hamilton said of Leclerc.
"It's not easy for any driver to jump into a top team, let alone Ferrari, against a four-time world champion, in the sport [with] more than double… God knows how much more experience.
"And then to, continuous, from race one out-perform, out-qualify and out-drive a four-time world champion is not easy to do. So I think that speaks for itself.
"He's been really unlucky in quite a few races this year. Could easily have been the third win today.
"So, there's a lot more greatness to come from him and I'm looking forward to seeing his growth and racing alongside him. It was fun trying to chase him. He was just a little bit too quick."
Since crashing out of his home race in Monaco, Leclerc has scored exactly 100 points to Vettel's 87.
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
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