France and Austria, key points of Charles Leclerc’s season
At mid-season, Charles Leclerc believes that the French and Austrian Grand Prix were key points in his adaptation to Ferrari. He hopes this will allow him to achieve his first victory before the end of the season.
The mid-season report is very positive for Charles Leclerc as he has already made it to five podiums, including four in the last four races. Notably, he came very close to victory in Bahrain but was betrayed by his mechanics in the final laps.
If the Monegasque driver no longer mentions this mishap, he believes that two races in particular were turning points for his season. The first was almost his second home race, as Le Castellet is in close proximity to his native Principality. But more importantly, it was from this moment that the SF-90 suited his driving style better: « Until France, it was me who adapted to the car. Since France, we have worked to ensure the car suits my driving style better, which has greatly helped me. »
If he waited for a third of the season before having a car that matched his style, it was because he didn’t want to arrive as a conqueror at Maranello when it was only his second season in the category: « When you arrive at such a big team like Ferrari, you can be intimidated. In any case, I was. I couldn’t see myself saying: “I want this, I want that.” That’s not how I wanted to start my relationship with the team. » This show of maturity could only earn him points internally, especially since the team had announced at the beginning of the season that if a choice had to be made, Sebastian Vettel would be granted the number 1 status. Now, things are not as clear since the four-time world champion is only three points ahead of his teammate.
The other key step is obviously Austria, where he once again came very close to victory but was denied by Max Verstappen’s comeback and a robust yet fair overtaking move by the Dutchman in the final laps of the race. At the time, the young driver had a hard time hiding his disappointment but learned from it: « Austria was a turning point. I understood that the stewards were a bit more lenient, which is a good thing. It’s good for the drivers, good for the show. So I adapted from the next race on and intend to maintain the same level of aggressiveness until the end of the season. » We thus witnessed a magnificent battle with the same Max Verstappen for a good part of the race, from which the Ferrari driver emerged victorious this time.
These performances have not gone unnoticed in the paddock, starting with Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader. He stated in the Hockenheim paddock: « Charles is only in his second season. He is therefore going to get stronger and we’ve already seen some very impressive performances. He is clearly the one to watch. Will Ferrari manage to catch up with the pace? I do not know, they’ve had their ups and downs. »
If he is not “obsessed” with his first victory in F1, it is clearly his goal by the end of the season. In any case, he will experience a somewhat special German weekend as his younger brother Arthur will also be present in F4. The two brothers thus completed the traditional Thursday reconnaissance lap together.
From our special correspondent in Hockenheim
