Why "impatient" Leclerc is keeping faith in Ferrari for F1 2023

End of season analysis of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign will most likely point to the weight reducing upgrade push that Red Bull unleashed from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as the real turning point of the title battle.
Before then, Ferrari appeared comfortably on top, with Charles Leclerc winning two of the first three races, and main rival Max Verstappen facing the double whammy of poor reliability and a car that wasn’t perfectly suited to him.

From Imola onwards, though, as Verstappen was able to step up a gear with an RB18 that better suited his pointy front end preferences, Leclerc was always going to find it hard to get back in the game. But despite Leclerc and Ferrari’s campaign being most publicly derailed by a combination of costly reliability problems (Spain and Azerbaijan), strategy issues (Monaco and Silverstone) and driver error (Imola and France), it was not actually until the scale of Red Bull’s pace advantage became clear after the summer break that the Monegasque driver felt for sure all hope was lost.

Speaking to Autosport about the moment when he realised it was over, Leclerc reflects: “Many people believe that this moment is the French Grand Prix, but for me it was in Spa. During the summer break I believed that we still had the possibilities to stay in the race until the end.

“Then the Belgian Grand Prix arrived and it was the first weekend of the season in which Red Bull was truly superior in terms of pace. After that weekend I thought it would be very difficult to keep our chances intact in the world championship.” 

Confirmation of the dream being over as its second half got underway was a world away from how things were in his head as he returned from the Australian GP with a 34-point lead in the standings over George Russell.

Leclerc and Ferrari's season started with a 1-2 in Bahrain as Red Bull's race imploded with a double DNF for Verstappen and Perez

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

“We were in a good position,” he reflects. “There was everything to believe in the possibility of playing our chances until the end. If we think back to Bahrain, Jeddah and Melbourne, there were no unexpected events. We had completed all the winter tests without a problem and we were probably the only team not to have had to deal with something unexpected.

“The trend was confirmed in the first three races, three weekends in which we confirmed ourselves to be very fast and reliable. So after Melbourne I was convinced that we would be able to play it until the end.”

The positive trend did not last long. At Imola, the first major Red Bull upgrade to improve aero and take off weight delivered the win for Verstappen and Leclerc’s season turned south. The biggest blows then came in Spain, Monaco and Azerbaijan as what could have been three wins turned into not even one podium finish.

"As far as tyre management is concerned, we still have to make some progress. We have seen a stronger Red Bull on this front, especially in specific conditions, such as at Suzuka" Charles Leclerc

There was a glimmer of hope in Austria, when Ferrari enjoyed better tyre life than Red Bull, but that remains the Scuderia’s most recent win heading into the final two races of the year. Reflecting on the momentum swing away from Ferrari, Leclerc outlines some key areas that counted against his squad and need addressing if it is going to get on terms with Red Bull next year.

“At the start of the season our car was generally better than Red Bull,” he said. “Then they made some steps forward, we saw what they brought to the track over many weekends, and for our perspective this led to a difference in performance between qualifying and the race.

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“At present, I believe that the points where we need to improve are tyre management, communication, strategy and reliability, which was a problem that we had to deal with in the first half of the season and that we had to manage.

The low point of the season for Leclerc came with his crash from the lead in France

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

“I believe that we have made progress on communication and strategy, especially in the last few races. The team has done a great job on these aspects and I have seen the progress. It wasn't very obvious because in some race the correct choices are less obvious.

“As far as tyre management is concerned, we still have to make some progress. We have seen a stronger Red Bull on this front, especially in specific conditions, such as at Suzuka. In summary, we know what we are missing, and on some fronts I am already seeing steps forward.”

While the 2022 campaign has had some low moments, and exposed weaknesses in both his own driving and Ferrari’s operation that need to be improved for the future, equally there has been positive progress too. In particular, Leclerc has regularly shone on Saturday afternoons and been able to extract everything possible from his car. He says that when it became clear just how strong the F1-75 would be on single lap pace, he worked extra hard to ensure he delivered his side of the bargain.

“It is a very special exercise in which every detail makes a big difference,” he says. “The tyres have a very narrow window in which they deliver maximum performance, and it's not always easy to hit it because conditions vary.

“It's an aspect I've worked a lot on, and which I think it has helped me this season. As far as you can prepare, when you hit the track on Saturday afternoon there is always something that has changed compared to the calculations. I am talking about asphalt grip which can be higher than expected, or wind, and in this scenario you have to be quick to understand and adapt.

“When I realised that I would have the opportunity to battle for pole and victories I pushed more, even unknowingly it made me pull out even more from myself. In the end it is a progression, from 2019 to today. But the biggest step I have made is the one related to the management of the race, but it is difficult to bring out this aspect with such a strong Red Bull.”

Leclerc has snared pole nine times in 2022, raising his level on one lap to get the maximum from his F1-75

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

It certainly was not automatic that Leclerc would be able to get so at one with the car. For just as Carlos Sainz confessed recently to needing to change his driving style at adapt to the F1-75, so too Leclerc had to revise things ahead of the 2022 campaign.

“I think all the drivers have had to change their driving style in some way because what we have today are heavier cars than before,” he explained. “In the first months I also had to adapt. It was not an immediate feeling. Since I made my debut in Formula 1 I had always driven the same generation of cars and I had to change a few things.

“We did a great job during the pre-season tests, managing to immediately grasp the areas on which to focus on, and the needs of these new cars in terms of driving. Already at the first race I felt good with the car. I had the feeling of being able to extract the maximum potential it could give me. Personally, the aspect that I liked the most is a strong front end, and especially at the beginning of the season it was exactly what I like.”

"When I realised that I would have the opportunity to battle for pole and victories I pushed more, even unknowingly it made me pull out even more from myself. In the end it is a progression, from 2019 to today" Charles Leclerc

While Ferrari’s rollercoaster season has grabbed some sensational headlines at times, especially when things have gone wrong, the mood within the team has been exceptionally calm.

Indeed, its president John Elkann talked ahead of the Italian Grand Prix about having patience for Ferrari to wait until 2026 for a title. Leclerc doesn’t quite share the same timeframe. His focus is on making amends for what didn’t go right this year and get on with its next season.

"Exactly,” he smiles. “I know that the President has said that it is a goal to be achieved by 2026, but as a driver I cannot think about this deadline. I am very impatient. I will prepare and do everything possible to be world champion in 2023.”

Leclerc is already looking ahead to 2023 with determination to make up for the opportunities missed in 2022

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images