The 2022 Formula 1 season got off to a promising start for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver led the championship table for the first three races. His lead over Red Bull competitor Max Verstappen added up to 46 points.
But then Verstappen’s winning streak began and Leclerc increasingly fell behind, also due to failures and strategic errors. In the end he didn’t stand a chance. Verstappen became world champion with a lead of 146 points.
Asked about his conclusion of this season, Leclerc said: “It’s difficult to draw a conclusion. I mean, if I take a step back and consider how far we’ve come compared to last year, it’s an amazing step forward. “
“But of course I can’t ignore the middle of the season, which was super frustrating. We led the championship by a big point advantage, only to end it with a big point deficit. And that was a frustrating part of the season,” summarizes the Ferrari -Pilot his racing year together.
Ferrari’s strategic decisions at the end of the season better
What needs to be done for 2023 is obvious: “All in all, we just have to eradicate all the mistakes we made this year and try to improve for next year.” He was already seeing progress towards the end of the season.
“I think we’ve really made a step forward in the last few races in terms of strategy and the way we made decisions,” says Leclerc, but qualifies: “Unfortunately, it was a little more difficult to do that to show because the pace wasn’t as good as it was at the start of the season.”
Nevertheless, he is confident that next year he will be able to “catch up with Red Bull in terms of pace”. But now the signs are pointing to a break.
When asked about the winter break, Leclerc reveals: “I try to do as little as possible. Of course it was a long season and next year it will be even longer. So yes, I’ll just relax with family and friends.”