Charles Leclerc and Ferrari in search of consistency
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From Corsica to Sardinia, via Ibiza and a few days spent at home in Monaco, Charles Leclerc made the most of his four weeks of summer break and disconnected from Formula 1 to digest a frustrating first part of the 2022 season. At the wheel of the F1-75, the fastest car in the paddock, the 24-year-old scored three victories in Bahrain, Australia and Austria which gave Ferrari hope and a desire to fight for the world championship. But the Monegasque above all experienced difficulties which relegated him to 80 points behind Max Verstappen (Red Bull), current leader of the drivers’ classification.
At the end of these four weeks of vacation – a break imposed by F1 regulations – the Monegasque driver will return to the track during the Grand Prix of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Sunday August 28, with the aim of going to win new victories, to tickle the world champion, Max Verstappen, but also to put behind him the dispute with his team, Ferrari, which appeared during the last Grand Prix, on July 28, in Hungary.
That day, after the race on the Hungaroring circuit, Leclerc had openly, and for the first time this season, criticized his team. “Carnage”had launched the 24-year-old driver to describe the strategic choices of Ferrari, which made him descend from the 1D at the 6e place, far behind the victorious Verstappen.
Frustrating episodes like this, Leclerc has experienced more than one since the start of the season. “Charles is extremely happy to be able to win every weekend, which was not the case last year. But as the appetite comes with eating, it is certain that he is logically disappointed to find himself 80 points behind Verstappen.explains Nicolas Todt, Leclerc’s agent since 2010.
Seven pole positions, but only three victories
To find himself with more than three successes in the race of the Dutchman in the classification – a victory offers 25 points – Leclerc suffered blows of fate. Two mechanical breakages when he was leading the race, in Spain on May 22 and in Azerbaijan on June 12, forced him to retire. In Monaco on May 29, in Great Britain on July 3 and in Hungary on July 28, it was Ferrari’s strategic choices that weighed him down, as he drove perfect races.
“Ferrari has won many titles, so all these mistakes, gross, are incomprehensible”, Judge Franck Montagny, former Formula 1 driver and now consultant for Canal+. Charles Leclerc is not outdone, with two faults in the race, in Emilia-Romagna on April 24 – he will finish 6e – and at the Grand Prix de France on July 24, author of a spin forcing him to retire while he was leading the race.
“A rookie mistake”Leclerc will say, while Mattia Binotto, the boss of the Scuderia, will clear him in stride: “It happens when you drive on the limit. We shouldn’t blame him. » The result of the first part of the season is frustrating: seven pole positions for Leclerc, converted into only three successes, against eight victories for Verstappen, who obtained only three pole positions.
Despite these setbacks, Laurent Mekies, sporting director of Ferrari, wanted to reassure about the atmosphere that reigns within the team, “which couldn’t be better”in comments made on the official Formula 1 website a few days before the resumption of the championship. “It must not become a political game between the driver and the team, we must calm things down, stick together, especially in difficult times”judge, for his part, Olivier Panis, former Formula 1 driver.
“The atmosphere is good at Ferrari, and when there are problems we don’t argue, we discuss the concerns internally”explains Nicolas Todt, who assures that his protege has not “Never been so focused as this season. He works even more with his engineers and is very present in Maranello [l’usine de Ferrari]. I noticed a real evolution in his way of working since the beginning of the season. »
Red Bull “will put the pressure on”
Like Charles Leclerc, far from being ” beaten down “Nicolas Todt continues to believe in it: “A lot of things can still happen, victories on one side, retirements on the other. » But to win other races, even the world championship, which Leclerc has been programmed for since his arrival in Formula 1 in 2018, “Ferrari will have to change things. But they have a somewhat worrying attitude, because I have the impression that there is no questioning.judge Franck Montagny.
At the same time, Red Bull, aware of Ferrari’s difficulties, “will put the pressure on to continue to make them flinch. And when a team is feverish, it is less efficient, which could be a handicap for the rest of the season.explains Franck Montagny, while there are still nine races to go.
So what can Leclerc look for in this second part of the season? Franck Montagny believes that the Monegasque, closely followed in the standings by Sergio Pérez (Red Bull, five points) and George Russell (Mercedes, twenty points), must accumulate experience for next season: “He has to establish himself as Verstappen’s real challenger in the drivers’ standings. » In front of his teammate, Carlos Sainz, or Mercedes drivers.
It is at Spa-Francorchamps, where he won his very first race in Formula 1 in September 2019, driving a Ferrari, that he hopes to relaunch the machine on Sunday. But Leclerc will have to deal with a penalty, the second already this season after the Grand Prix of Canada on June 19, for an engine change. The Monegasque will start at the end of the grid, alongside a Verstappen also penalized. Against all expectations, it is at the back of the pack that the race for the title will resume. Leclerc hopes this time without a hitch.
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