Bernie Ecclestone ran the F1 show for many years prior to the Liberty Media takeover. The British business magnate always shared the opinion that a competitive Ferrari is vital to the success of the sport. This season he got just that with the Maranello outfit racing out of the blocks.

However, Ecclestone expressed his concern for previous misdemeanors returning for the Italian team. He told Swiss newspaper Blick, “Errors are creeping in again, The reliability we are seeing is often reminiscent of the old days and the drivers themselves are not always confident on the track.”

Although, Ecclestone had his hopes pinned on Ferrari this year and said, “..I had hoped that Ferrari would succeed again after more than 14 years,”.

He had to reel in his excitement before adding, “Unfortunately, I have to say that anyone who continues to put their money on Ferrari or Leclerc will get nothing.”

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However, amidst all these admissions by Ecclestone, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc remains hopeful. The Monegasque believes that he can still salvage the season and make up the deficit to Verstappen in the driver’s standings.

Leclerc still harbors title hopes amid recent Bernie Ecclestone admission

Charles Leclerc started 2022 in fine fashion with 2 wins in the opening 3 races. However, a recent string of misfortune and sub-standard results leave him 49 points adrift of championship leader Max Verstappen.

Even so, Leclerc still has not ruled himself out of title contention. He emphasizes, “The championship is still young,”. Remaining optimistic about his chances he added, “Yes, the disadvantage is 49 but that’s two wins – that’s all!…. So I’m not worried, I’m extremely motivated to finally have a clean weekend and show that we’re still there and that we’re still strong.”

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Will the Ferrari driver make up the deficit in the coming rounds? Or is Ecclestone’s prediction accurate and Ferrari has once again fumbled? Only time will tell.