Charles Leclerc had set the goal of 2022 in five seasonal victories, a goal still within reach given that there are still five races to go before closing a season that overall remains positive in the eyes of the Ferrari driver. The Monegasque had started the year giving the impression of being able to dominate given that in the first three races he obtained two pole positions, two wins, a second place and three fastest laps out of three. After the landslide victory in Australia, the 1997 class had defined its Ferrari F1-75 “a beast” and after three acts Leclerc had a 46-point advantage over Max Verstappen, forced to surrender on two occasions due to technical problems in Bahrain and Australia.
From Imola onwards, however, the inexorable comeback of Max Verstappen and Red Bull began, which in a few races not only closed the gap, but also took off while Charles Leclerc collected only one more stage victory in Austria at the end of a Sunday as a hero that ended with an accelerator problem managed by the top of his talent. It is no coincidence that when faced with the question of how he would define himself as a driver, he chose “aggressive and versatile“an adjective the latter certified not only by the final of the race held at the Red Bull Ring, but in general to the revolution brought about by the ground effect to which, for example, he proved to have become accustomed much faster than his boxing mate Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 and at the end of that year he signed a contract extension with the Scuderia di Maranello valid until 2024. The prospect of racing for life in the Red suit fascinates him: “Staying in the red forever would be great – said in an interview with Corriere dello Sport – driving a Ferrari is every driver’s dream and I am living it ”.
The adventure in Ferrari after an inebriating start in 2019 has experienced difficult chapters in 2020 and 2021, but 2022 marked the discontinuity with respect to the two-year fast in which Leclerc hoped: “Who would have bet a year ago on the competitiveness we have today? By continuing to work like this, the title will come soon. Further steps are needed, but I have faith in the project “. Ferrari team principal on the occasion of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza Mattia Binotto he stressed that the Scuderia di Maranello still lacked two steps to be entitled to the title, that is to correct the errors that emerged in this 2022 and definitively acquire a winning mentality. President John Elkann indicated in 2026 the deadline by which Ferrari will win a Drivers ‘title and a Constructors’ title.
#Leclerc #Staying #Ferrari #wonderful #FormulaPassion.it