Winning in F1 is a big mess, imagine if you want to do it with Ferrari. Fourteen words fragmented by a comma that convey the idea perfectly. Yet, if we look through the history of the redhead there are those who… Maranello he put up tents and then abandoned Via Abetone Inferiore 4 only at the request of the team. Leclerc it seems to have the same intention. He doesn’t care about anything else. At various moments in his career he was linked to other teams. Maybe he even talked to us. Who knows, perhaps to indirectly wake up the working group behind him.
The fact is that the Monegasque makes no future plans. Or perhaps it would be better to say that he does them but only with the Ferrari. Arrived in F1 with the red one, a season parked in Alfa Romeo where he showed off his potential, right from the first free practices of Grand Prix Of Australia 2019sharing the garage with a four-time world champion, so to speak Sebastian Vettel, made it clear that he would not grip the steering wheel of his all-red car and be satisfied with making a good impression. The goal of Leclerc it was to do the best. Get the best possible outcome based on possibilities.
Looking through the career of Charles we discover that there are only 6 victories. A paltry 4.55% calculated on the basis of GP played: 132 in total. Races in which he racked up 24 pole positionpractically half of the starts from the pole won by Ferrari for the last 16 years. For the rest we can say that he got on the podium 35 times, he achieved 2 “hat tricks”, Bahrain And Australiaand a “grade slam” always at Melbourne. 21 withdrawals, 6 with the Sauber15 with the Italian cars and a total sum of points won equal to 1212. Again: 740 laps in the lead of a race over a distance of 3758 km in the lead and 7,029 total laps completed covering 35,784 km.
Are they just numbers? Yes… why measure the talent of Leclerc through data it wouldn’t make much sense. Like she didn’t have him do it with Max Verstappen who, only once he held a competitive steering wheel in his hands, demonstrated his enormous talent and consequently greatly expanded his positive statistics. The purpose of the comparison is certainly not to establish who is the stronger rider between the two. If this were the case, to give an example, we could say that even Valtteri himself Bottas achieved almost double the victories of Charles. An image that does not at all reflect the value of the two pilots.
F1, Leclerc: Ferrari in his blood and forever
In a progressive manner Ferrari is returning to the top. The path is still very long and paved with pitfalls. There’s no doubt about this. Despite this, about 12 months ago, the correct path was taken on a technical level. Enrico Cardile has demonstrated once again that he knows how to do it, especially when, on the sidelines of the technical “demise” of David Sanchez, received the so-called “carte blanche” to be able to dedicate himself to a performance comeback. The quality of the work carried out by the group of engineers he directs is there for all to see. A redhead who knows and can compete at the top currently, despite some problems remaining.
We are referring in particular to the management of covers, aka tyres. A factor which has largely been resolved but which, in certain conditions, still makes it very difficult to extrapolate performance from SF-24. We were able to clearly observe this in Canadawhere variable weather conditions and low temperatures completely destroyed the weekend of Ferrari on the island of Notre Dame. A weekend so dark that it was rightly labeled by the protagonists themselves as a “case apart”. A dark parenthesis of an undoubtedly positive World Cup.
Leclerc He knows. For this reason, already from the next one Grand Prix of Spaintenth round of the competitive campaign 2024can’t wait to prove that Montreal he made a fool of everything team Italian. To do so, exactly like his partner with whom he shares the garageyou should be able to have further updates on the SF-24. Main innovation to the fund to which are added other “tweaks” which are nevertheless important to optimize performance. From this point of view the Catalan track will have an impact. A type of layout that facilitates the validation of update.
For the rest, through the recent declarations of Leclerc at the Press, it is worth pointing out one fact. To reiterate it actually, since the Monegasque has never said anything different from what was reported by the Italian newspaper based in Turin. The Ferrari driver mentioned the current championship fight for the constructors, underlining that he will also keep an eye on the drivers’ classification to fight to the end. It couldn’t be otherwise for a rider of his caliber who nourishes his passion towards a single desire. His desire was eagerly aspired to from an early age: to win a world championship F1 with the Ferrari.
Unlike the “usual” statements to which Charles we have been accustomed to it for some time now, this time we have added another even stronger one. Leclerc he made no secret of his desire, adding that he will be willing to wait as long as necessary to triumph aboard the Ferrari. Yet another dispassionate declaration of love towards the team that has believed in him since he was a child. A sort of lifetime signature on the contract that binds him to the red, because as well as winning with the prancing Horseat least for him, in F1 there really is nothing else.
Ultimately, a further comment that undoubtedly makes us understand the Monegasque’s desire for “exclusive” success. While Leclerc wants to boast the world title with the red and as mentioned is willing to wait as long as it takes, he is working precisely to do it as soon as possible. For this reason, even now he does not consider the opportunity in the current championship to have passed away, even if it is a very complicated scenario. One thing is certain in all this: Ferrari it must be able to provide him with the right car but, at the same time, all the essential support that a driver must have to fight at the top all the way to the end.
That’s why the always hilarious Fred Vasseurwhich was given carte blanche at the time, is fleshing out the team with illustrious arrivals. There’s no need to name names, we already know them perfectly. In addition to the human value, all the strategic areas of the team remain to be strengthened. In short, the entire working group, which must be able to commit the lowest percentage of errors ever, exploit every single possibility over the weekend and, clearly, provide Leclerc all the useful ingredients to cook the winning dish.
Author: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz
Images: Scuderia Ferrari
