by VALERIO BARRETTA
Leclerc, a schoolboy in his early days in F1
Even before he was promoted to Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc he had shown his talent abundantly in Sauber and in the growth path that took him from the Ferrari Academy to Formula 1. In Maranello, in 2019, they knew they had a special driver in the team, capable of beating Sebastian Vettel in both seasons from teammates.
Becker's words
The year before, in Sauber, the Monegasque had demolished Marcus Ericsson's competition (39-9). A result resulting not only from the difference in talent but also in approach to racing, as track engineer Jörn Becker underlined: “I remember when he did the first test for us. We have a set of reference data with which we can measure the speed of adaptation to F1, and during this test we were already able to see how Charles was a very special driver“, these are Becker's words to the BBC.
“His way of working was also special. During the tests, he always had a small book with him. And after each test he took notes to note down the most important details. And then, in the next debriefing, she would open the book and refer to the information that she had written down during the session. She was really impressive, he had a very academic approach. Some exceptional drivers are not interested in the technical aspect and then reach a certain level where they no longer improve – they simply reach the limit of their talent. But the best find this extra step by being very good at developing and setting up the car.”.
The challenge with Hamilton
Next year the Monegasque driver will be faced with the toughest challenge: sharing the garage with the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton who will chase the dream of an eighth world title in Maranello. Leclerc will also have a lot to learn from the Briton. And who knows, he might put this schoolboy attitude into practice with him too.
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