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Will Charles Leclerc’s dream of winning the world championship with Ferrari ever be achieved?

Ever since Charles Leclerc entered the Formula racing world, he was always seen as championship material. His ability behind the wheel is lauded by the greats of Formula One. Leclerc’s aggressive driving style and his ability to push the car beyond its limits have made him one of the best talents on the grid.

Although, some would argue that pushing his car to the limit had cost him several points and wins throughout his career. This brings us to the bigger question, does Charles Leclerc need to leave the Scuderia to win his 1st World driver’s title?

Charles Leclerc Net Worth 2023, F1 Salary, Endorsements, House, Girlfriend and Car Collection

Ferrari won its last world championship with Kimi Raikkonen back in 2007. Ferrari’s infamous strategy calls, in the end, arguably cost them many opportunities for world championships in the coming years.

Over the years Ferrari has built a reputation for making rookie mistakes in every aspect of racing. A prime example would be Monaco 2022 Grand Prix where they accidentally called both their drivers to pit which in the end you can say costed Leclerc’s potential win.

However, one does wonder how a team so dominant during the Schumacher era faced great failure over the years. Michael Schumacher won 5 world titles with Ferrari making it one of the most successful teams of the time.

Leclerc however doesn’t seem too keen on leaving the team. “I believe in the project and I want to go all the way with the team I've dreamed of since I was a kid”, said the Monegasque after his future with Ferrari was questioned. Charles Leclerc though, would have had a stellar career in my opinion if he did join a different team. After his memorable junior career, he was destined to do better in his F1 career.

Charles’ rookie Formula One season

After Charles Leclerc’s extraordinary junior career it was about time he was on the F1 grid. In 2018, his rookie season with Sauber he managed to out-qualify teammate Marcus Ericsson 17 times from 21 races.

He also scored 39 points that year finishing p13 in the driver’s championship as opposed to the 9 points scored by Ericsson. This remarkable domination got him a seat at Scuderia Ferrari in 2019.

Charles Leclerc Ferrari’s golden boy?

Leclerc’s first season was truly remarkable as he completely dominated his teammate Sebastian Vettel, who was a seasoned driver. In Vettel’s defence the team did not deliver a fast car, but regardless he scored 49 points against Leclerc’s 98 points and 2 victories. “He won in Spa he wins in Monza”, an iconic piece of commentary that still resides in the hearts of all Charles Leclerc fans. Beating Vettel in the first year with the team was commendable and bigger things were expected of Leclerc.

In 2021, Vettel was replaced by Carlos Sainz as Leclerc’s teammate. This was supposed to be a new and improved team and like every year the fans expected a lot from the team as well as Leclerc. A massive recovery was made as Ferrari finished third in the standings ahead of McLaren. Sainz however beat Leclerc by a huge margin.

Bigger and better things were expected of the Scuderia before the 2022 Formula One season. The disappointment was the only word to describe Ferrari’s season in 2022. Their entire season was plagued with questionable strategy calls, reliability issues and many driver errors.

The team had finally built a car worthy of winning races and potentially clenching the world driver’s title. That, however, only remained a far-fetched dream for Charles Leclerc. After a 1-2 finish in the first race of the season, you don’t expect a team to fail as poorly as Ferrari did.

Like most front-running teams, Ferrari didn’t assign a number one driver, which further muddled their chances of any accomplishment.

Teams like Mercedes and even Redbull have made team orders a very common thing. Which in my opinion has been monumental in the triumph they have garnered over the years.

The end of 2022 saw the last of Mattia Binotto, as he was sacked for the 2023 season The 2023 season hasn't been great either. With only one podium to Leclerc's name, we all wonder whether staying with Ferrari is the right option for Charles.

Leclerc’s future with the Scuderia

After his impressive run with the team in 2019, he got a big contract with the team which expires at the end of 2024. Many including me, an avid F1 fan has questioned Leclerc’s stay with the team. The man’s talent in my viewpoint may be going to waste at Ferrari. A person with his calibre should be competing for wins and eventually championships, not settling for a mere p5. Charles has sometimes been his own worst enemy, which certainly can’t be overlooked. But the pattern of underachieving in Ferrari has been seen even with past drivers.

Amidst rumours of Lewis Hamilton possibly being recruited for Ferrari next year, we as an audience can only wait and see what the future holds for Ferrari’s golden boy.

[firstsportznews]

“I Know Jimmy Guaranteed a Dub”: Trae Young Throws Shade at Heat Star After a Tough Play-in Win

The climax of the 2022-23 NBA season couldn’t have been better as both conferences had a nail-biting competition for the Play-In as well as the playoff spots. With the regular season coming to an end, the Play-In tournament has kicked off with 2 tough games. 

The Atlanta Hawks took on the Heat for the 7th seed as they play their second consecutive Play-In tournament this year versus the team that kicked them in the first round last year. Though having a better record, the Heat couldn’t handle Atlanta’s forces. 

Trae Young wasn’t shy of his sweet redemption

Atlanta took the first Play-In tournament win over the Heat, 116-105 as they will now face the Celtics in the playoffs. Both the teams battled it out throughout the game, though in the end, Hawks’ collective effort stood out. Trae Young led the team, filling the stat sheet with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and dishing out 7 assists.

After the game, Trae shed some light on Jimmy Butler’s comments prior to the game. “I was really focused on the night and making sure we won. I know Jimmy guaranteed a dub so, I was really focused on making sure that didn’t happen.”, said Young. 

Butler was optimistic about this matchup and was pretty confident to get past the Hawks in the Play-In. Trae had that in mind throughout the game and had to let everyone know what really pushed him to seal the game with a dub. 

Not only that, but Hawks also had all its bench players put up double digits with a combined score of 53 points. Miami on the other hand was led by Kyle Lowry, who put 33 points off the bench. This was indeed a sweet redemption for the Hawks as they send the Heat to try and settle for the eighth seed ahead of the tournament.

It was definitely an upset of a season for the Heat fans coming off a pretty successful previous season. As the Play-In tournament continues, Miami will play the winner of the second game of the East Play-In between the Bulls and the Raptors. 

How far can the Hawks go in the postseason?

The Hawks are all set to play Boston, runner-ups of the 22’ Finals, in the first round. The Celtics have been great all year long, looking to get back in the Finals again, and this time only settling for a ring. With their star players Tatum and Brown both putting up more than 26 points a game, Trae and company will need to put in their all on the defensive end. 

Also Read: Skip Bayless Calls Trae Young TERRIBLY inefficient, reasons why he could be traded

Both teams are well balanced scoring wise, making this first-round series look even more interesting. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks hold off the Celtics. What are your thoughts on this first-round series?

Let us know in the comments below.

[firstsportznews]

Who is the new member of Anoa'i that can make his debut in WWE?

The Anoa’i family has undoubtedly been the most dominant wrestling family in the history of the sport If a family has members like, The Rock, Yokozuna, Rikishi, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, Afa, Sika, Umaga, one can imagine just the passion that flows in the family.

To add to the list of Samoan Superstars, Rikishi recently posted a photo of his fourth son introducing him to the pro-wrestling audience, Solo and the Usos’ brother Jeremiah who goes by the nameofThamikoT. Fatu was introduced by his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi on Instagram recently with the caption,

"Another one. Get ready #thamikotuuhetokafatu #Tokollso THAMI KO T. FATU #FatuLegacy for bookings contact link in bio.. tows

The list of accolades by the Anoa’i family are too many to list dating back to the 80s when High Cheif Peter Maivia, Afa and Sika (The Wild Samoans) were the big players in the game. The family name was then carried further by the likes of WWE Hall of Famers, Yokozuna and Rikishi who ruled the 90s along with arguably the biggest drawer in the pro-wrestling business, Dwayne 'The Rock’ Johnson.

Umaga was portrayed as a dominant Somoan bulldozer in the late 2000s who unfortunately passed away before he could reach his fullest potential in WWE. The 2010s saw the rise of the next generation of the Anoa’i family to dominate the tag division of WWE for almost a decade in the form of Jey and Jimmy Usos.

They are currently one of the best tag-team in the sport. 2022 saw the call-up of their younger brother Solo Sikoa to the main roster from NXT, who has been a wrecking force for the Bloodline since his debut in September last year.

Apart from them, the biggest star that the WWE got from this family is the current reigning defending undisputed Universal WWE Champion Roman Reigns. His title reign is set to complete 1000 days which has not been seen in the past 40 years of the championship. It is not at all surprising how successful most of the members from the family have been looking at the level of effort they put into their work.

Yokozuna was known for his skills in the ring despite being over 500 pounds, unfortunately, passed away in 2000 at a very young age. He is still looked upon by all his peers as a great professional wrestler.

Dwayne 'The Rock’ Johnson became one of the top-grossing actors in Hollywood after ruling the most successful era in pro-wrestling along with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, Mankind and fellow Samoan Rikishi. Apart from the success in WWE, Rikishi also had brief runs in other promotions such as TNA in the early 2000s.

Looking at the rich history of this family, it won’t be surprising to see Thamiko in WWE and put on a dominant performance just like his brothers and other family members.

[firstsportznews]

UFC eyeing Tony Ferguson vs Kevin Lee for International Fight Week

At the start of 2023, Kevin Lee chose to resign from the UFC. But it looks like the resignation was just like a holiday for Kevin since he is getting his first matchup against rival Tony Ferguson.

But this Kevin Lee is eyeing a fight against Tony Ferguson again but in the welterweight division. Kevin had a lot of success in the lightweight division, but this time he wants revenge against Tony. Back in 2017, Kevin was giving a tough time to Tony, but Tony’s game plan has always been this: he steals the win from the opponent at the correct time, so at UFC 216, the same thing happened. Kevin Lee lost to Tony Fergusson via the triangle.

In a recent interview, Kevin Lee said,

"It's looking like we're going to do Tony. Me and Tony Ferguson, a lot of people are calling for that fight; they want to see the rematch. I feel like it's going to write a whole bunch of wrongs that happened in 2017, and it's going to put me right back on the right track. I feel like that's the fight that people want to see. It's a great fight for Tony, it's a great fight for me, and I think it's a great fight for the UFC... I think it's only right that we bring it back. We're going to do International Fight Week, is what I'm hearing".

But this time, luck may be on Kevin Lee's side because Tony hasn’t won a fight since the year 2019. Tony is on a five-fight losing streak, which is destroying his confidence. Also, his last two fight defeats can be an advantage to Kevin Lee, who resigned after having a win in the octagon.

As per the USADA, the former UFC lightweight championship contender will get a six-month testing pool, which will allow him to return to the company.

Both fighters had their last five matches, which can break any fighter’s confidence and will to compete again. But they are ready to try their luck once again. According to the sources, whoever loses the fight, it could be the last time they see Tony or Kevin in the UFC octagon.

At UFC 290, the PPV audience will get to see these two fighters for the first time. But for the fans, this is not just the fight that is coming up in July. Jon Jones will also be facing one of the greatest heavyweight champions, Stipe Miocic.