Charles Leclerc judges his season to be rather good
Crowned runner-up in the 2022 World Championship on Sunday, Charles Leclerc looks back on his season, which he considers to have been a good one, despite a number of driving and strategy errors and engine failures. A season with a full 308 points.
Interviewed by Canal +, Charles Leclerc assesses his 2022 season with Ferrari. He had visited Canal Sports Club before the start of the season, predicting 5 victories. He only managed to win 3 Grand Prix this season: Bahrain, Australia, and Austria. The Monegasque driver would have “preferred to be 7 more than 2 less” compared to his objective.
Pilot errors this season
If he has experienced engine failures and has fallen victim to strategy mistakes, the Ferrari driver takes responsibility for his own driving errors.
« Pilot errors, there have been some, those things happen, but they should not happen. I will work to make them happen less and less. There was a big one in France where I lost 25 points, it hurt.
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However, starting from pole position for the French Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc spun out before crashing into the tyre wall at the Beausset corner, an off-track excursion in the last sector of the circuit that required the intervention of the safety car. The driver had admitted his technical mistake.
A challenging season but improving!
If Ferrari and Charles Leclerc have often been criticized for their strategy mistakes, car reliability issues, and driver errors, their performances are improving compared to the 2021 season. This is what the driver wanted to emphasize.
« It’s accumulation in general, it’s a season that hasn’t been easy precisely because of that. We know we have the performance to be able to fight for victories and the fact that we can’t materialize it on Sundays, it’s tough. It’s a complicated season emotionally. We’ve had ups and downs, but overall it’s been a good season. We tend to forget where we were coming from, specifically last year, it’s a good step forward.
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Statistically, Leclerc this year is:
• 7 more pole positions than in 2021
• 3 wins to 0 in 2021
• 10 more podiums than the previous year
• 149 points more than in 2021
• 5 places gained in the drivers’ championship.
The sweet memory of Bahrain and the bitterness of Monaco.
Charles Leclerc will remember the Bahrain Grand Prix as his best memory of the season. Both Ferrari drivers were on the podium: a first place for the Monegasque and a second place for his teammate Carlos Sainz. On the other hand, Leclerc seems to not be able to come to terms with the Monaco Grand Prix.
Particularly complicated because at home, I feel like there’s always something happening against me. Unfortunately, with a bad decision, we lost everything.
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While the Monegasque driver had secured pole position at home, a mix-up in the pit stop strategy cost him everything. His engineer asked him to come into the pits, but he changed his mind a few seconds later. It was too late, and Charles Leclerc was already committed to the pit lane. He had to wait for 2 seconds behind his teammate, who was already there. Those precious seconds cost him the advantage. He ended up finishing the race in fourth position.
Charles Leclerc finishes this season seeing the glass half full. 2023 will be an opportunity for him to prove that he is not limited to driver errors and his team’s strategies. The vice-world champion only has one perspective in mind, that of gold.
