Charles Leclerc has adapted his driving style

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari are lagging behind this year. Despite difficulties encountered in races, which have placed him 5th in the drivers’ championship, the Monegasque driver has started twice from pole position (in Baku and in Belgium after Max Verstappen’s penalty).

In twelve races, the Ferrari driver has started on the first two rows (qualifying between P1 and P4) on seven occasions out of twelve races.

The horse-powered race car struggled in wet conditions. A situation that did not prevent the driver from setting the second best time. Good performances in qualifying that the Monégasque driver explains with his driving style.

(Honestly, it is very difficult to give details because these are very slight changes in terms of driving style, but it makes a big difference in the end. I have a very aggressive driving style, whether it’s wet or dry tarmac, which pays off in both conditions,” Charles Leclerc explained. But whenever I am in between with slick tyres, it doesn’t really pay off. And during the qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, I tried different directions, also with tools, so the way the car is set up and the way I can take it from one turn to the next. That immediately gave me much more confidence and the lap time was better,” stated the number 16 of Scuderia Ferrari.)

The good qualifying performances were not translated into results by the 25-year-old driver, who only managed to step onto the podium 3 times this season (Azerbaijan, Austria, and Belgium). The poor results for the Italian team can be explained by tire wear during the races, where some teams perform better. However, Charles Leclerc did note some improvements during the race at Spa-Francorchamps.

« It’s a bit too early to say [if we wear out the tires less], but it’s been two or three races where we’ve been managing our tires better. In terms of tire management, we haven’t had huge degradation, keeping Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes behind, I was controlling the pace of my tires,” the driver said after his podium finish in Belgium.

The Monegasque driver remains fairly cautious regarding the issue of tires: « On this front, it seemed good, but we still need to keep an eye on it because sometimes, especially in very specific conditions, we go beyond the optimal tire usage window, and then we struggle to maintain a good pace » concluded the Ferrari driver.