Charles Leclerc has had a volatile season so far. After winning the first three races of the season, the remaining races, apart from the victory in Austria, have been accompanied by disappointments. Lawrence Barretto takes stock of Leclerc's season for F1.com.

Leclerc spun in Imola to finish sixth. Engine problems struck when he was leading in the Spanish and Azerbaijan GPs. In Monaco and Silverstone, it was the strategies that failed the Italian stable. An unusual tyre strategy in Hungary dropped him from the lead of the race to sixth place. And a mistake in pulling away from Verstappen saw him crash from the lead in France. That leaves Leclerc 80 points behind Verstappen with nine Grands Prix to go.

242 points to share

There are still 242 points on the table. Barretto takes into account the points for the fastest laps and for the Sprint in Brazil. Just as things fluctuated between Verstappen and Leclerc at the start of the season, the British journalist believes it could still go either way, even if the Dutchman is having a strong period of victories now.

"Ferrari's F1-75, as Leclerc says, is fast. That’s the hardest bit. They just need to cut the mistakes out, both inside the cockpit and on the pit wall, and hope for a bit of luck along the way." Barretto concludes: "His target now is a simple one: win each remaining race of the season, and hope that's enough to overhaul Verstappen."