Ferrari experienced a season “in two parts” for Charles Leclerc
At the beginning of the season, Ferrari was behind Mercedes, Aston Martin, and light-years away from Red Bull. But starting from Italy, they began to regain performance and secured several podium finishes.
A rollercoaster season for the Scuderia Ferrari. The Italian team finished the season in third place in the constructor standings, with 406 points, three units behind Mercedes. Charles Leclerc placed fifth in the driver’s championship with 206 points, while his teammate Carlos Sainz finished one place behind with 200 units.
Ferrari obtained nine podiums this year, six with the Monégasque [driver] and three with the Spaniard [driver]. It is also driver number 55 who clinched the only victory of the red team’s season, during the Singapore Grand Prix, on September 17th, the only main race that Red Bull did not win.
However, Ferrari’s season has not been linear. In the first 12 races of the season, the red team only achieved three podium finishes, all achieved by Leclerc, at the Azerbaijan, Austria, and Belgium Grand Prix. In contrast, Alonso and his Aston Martin achieved six podium finishes, and Mercedes achieved five, including a double podium in Spain on June 4th, with Lewis Hamilton in second place and George Russell in third place.
A turning point in the second half of the season
Ferrari has had better results starting from the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on September 3rd. Carlos Sainz secured third place, before his victory in Singapore two weeks later. The red team achieved two consecutive podium finishes in two weeks, at the Grand Prix in Austin and Mexico. Sainz and Leclerc finished third in both races. The Monegasque driver should have been on the podium in the United States, but he was disqualified due to a non-compliant ride height.
Driver number 16 finished the last two races of the season, in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, in second place on the podium. After this long season, Charles Leclerc reflected on his team’s performance. According to the Monegasque driver, Ferrari regained performance starting from the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24th, where he finished in fourth place.
« I think we had a season in two parts: we had the before and the after Japan, at least from my side. I feel much more comfortable with the car since Japan. We worked on the consistency of the car in different conditions, which has greatly helped my driving style. What I really like is having an oversteering car and a solid front end, which I couldn’t have in the first part of the season », explains Charles Leclerc.
« There is still a lot of work to be done, especially in terms of racing, with the tires. It all depends on the details we need to ensure everything is correct. At the moment, our car is not good enough and not consistent enough, especially on long runs, so we are working on that, continues the Ferrari driver.
