Leclerc believes he can complete title ‘mission’ with Ferrari،
At the end of 2019, Charles Leclerc signed a five-year contract to remain a Ferrari driver until 2024. It was big news at the time and a huge show of faith when Formula 1’s oldest team named a driver of 22 years as pilot. engine to drive it into a new decade.
Leclerc had made his debut with Ferrari earlier that year and outperformed his teammate, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, during the 2019 season. The bumper five-year contract, starting in 2020, was his reward, highlighting Ferrari’s belief that Leclerc, rather than Vettel, would be the driver to end the team’s 13-year drought.
Fast forward to today and almost four of those five contract years have passed, but title success seems more elusive than ever for Ferrari. Without a car capable of mounting a title challenge, the closest Leclerc has come to his goal is a distant second behind world champion Max Verstappen in last year’s standings and he has won just three additional victories to add to the two he had already won in the championship. end of 2019.
This year, the points gap to Verstappen at the head of the field has more than doubled to 354 (with two races remaining) and Leclerc is unlikely to finish higher than seventh in the standings. It would be understandable if the high hopes and expectations that surrounded his arrival at Ferrari five years ago had turned into intense pressure and frustration, but speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, Leclerc insists that this is not the case. is not the case.
“There is so much passion around the team that of course you feel responsible, but that doesn’t put pressure on me,” he said. “I am not someone who is under pressure, I just enjoy what I do with a lot of passion and a lot of dedication trying to do the best job possible and I hope to become world champion as soon as possible .”
At the start of the 2022 season, it looked like Leclerc might fulfill his destiny at Ferrari. He started the year with two wins in three races and trailed eventual champion Verstappen by 46 points in the standings after the Australian Grand Prix in April.
What happened next was a story of mistakes – on the part of Ferrari and himself – and misfortune that ultimately left Leclerc second in the standings, 146 points behind Verstappen. This year the car’s performance has fallen further compared to Red Bull, with Leclerc seventh in the drivers’ standings and behind Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz.
With his contract expiring at the end of next year and the potential for openings at several other teams on the grid, has he thought about what he could achieve with a different car?
“I don’t really think about it because Ferrari is so special and I wouldn’t change my position with anyone else on the grid.
Do I want to win world championships? Of course, it’s the same for everyone, but do I want to change places with someone? No, I don’t. “
Understanding the bond that unites Leclerc to Ferrari is understanding what it means to have a second family in sport. Leclerc’s godfather, the late Jules Bianchi, was preparing to drive for Ferrari when he suffered fatal head injuries in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix while racing for the Marussia team, today now disappeared.
Bianchi’s manager Nicolas Todt, who signed Leclerc as a karter in 2011, ensured that the Monaco native was part of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2016, providing crucial support at a time when self-funding raised by Leclerc were unlikely to cover his next climb up the motorsport ladder to the GP3 series. Leclerc then followed the path to F1 that had been opened to Bianchi before him, arriving at the pinnacle of the sport with Alfa Romeo in 2018 before making his Ferrari debut in 2019 at just 21 years old.
At the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix he took his first victory for the team and from then on the next goal will always be a world championship.
“I always dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver, and even more so at Ferrari,” he said. “It’s a bit of a family feeling now, I’ve been part of the team for so many years, whether as a real racing driver for Ferrari or at the Ferrari Driver Academy in previous years.
“It’s been many years together and I want to finish this mission with a world championship.”
When Ferrari launched this year’s car in February, the stated intention was to challenge for the 2023 title. But from the moment the SF-23 took to the track in pre-season testing, it became clear that the team’s objective was extremely improbable. Since then, Leclerc says he has seen progress, but remains realistic about the gap to Red Bull and Verstappen, who won both titles in October this year.
“There’s been quite a bit of progress, especially in the second half of the season. When we started after the summer break, we really made big strides in terms of understanding our car, and that’s a good positive step for the future. and for future development.
“It’s positive, but on the other hand it’s true that the season has been disappointing. Last year we finished second in the championship for both titles and this year we aimed to win the championship .At the moment this is certainly not what we are fighting for, and obviously Max has just won as well as Red Bull.
“I think we’ve seen two teams this year, Aston Martin at the start of the year and McLaren more recently, take big steps forward. That’s what gives us the confidence that these big steps can be made, but we need to understand exactly where the problems are coming from.
“We think we understand that, but until we put the car down and see huge improvements, it’s hard to predict. Everything is also relative in this sport and you are fighting against other cars and it depends what others will find. If Red Bull has found something again that will make them better next year.
“I am personally very confident about the direction we are taking in terms of development and I am sure it will pay off starting next year.”
Leclerc is expected to discuss his next contract with Ferrari over the winter. Neither team has publicly hinted that they will not renew and it is clear that Ferrari still holds a special place for Leclerc that no other team, no matter how successful, can match.
“It’s mainly what made me dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver when I was very young,” says Leclerc of his constant passion for Ferrari. “I think it’s the same for a lot of drivers. It was the case for me, and I always dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver, and even more so with Ferrari.
“Secondly, someone said to me yesterday, I’ve spent a quarter of my life in the Ferrari family, which is a lot and it means a lot to me too. You get to know a lot of people within the Ferrari family. team, you understand how much it means to them to work for Ferrari and how much it means to them to win again.
“I know I feel the same way, I want to get back to winning as quickly as possible. It’s a bit of a family feeling now, I’ve been with the team for so many years, whether it’s as an actual racing driver for Ferrari or at the Ferrari Driver Academy in previous years.
“It’s been many years together and I want to finish this mission with a world championship.”
