Charles Leclerc who joined Scuderia Ferrari in 2019, replacing Kimi Raikkonen, has enjoyed some incredible moments since joining the team, such as his intensely emotional wins in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza in 2019. 

The teams fall from the top has slowed the Monagasque’s momentum somewhat, but did now stop him from showcasing his talent throughout the 2021 season, as the team fought hard for an eventual P3 in the constructors’ championship. Leclerc stunned the Formula 1 community with an impressive pole position in Monaco earlier in the year and also managed to net a podium in the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.

Despite these feats, as well as out qualifying his teammate over the course of the season, Leclerc believes his biggest improvements came on race day.

“Definitely the race management in general,” said Leclerc when asked what he had learned over the course of the season.

“I think since early 2020 I’ve started to say it’s one of my weaknesses, especially after 2019 where I’ve had a lot of good qualifyings but then in the race I was struggling a bit more. 

“We were struggling a bit more as a team, but also as a driver I was struggling more than others so I put a lot of work into it in 2020, I got much better and I think in 2021 it’s actually one of my strengths now.”

Thank you to the whole team for all the hard work this year. We definitely took a step forward, and I’m already looking forward to next year to hopefully be back fighting at the top. pic.twitter.com/c8PDMrtGUO

— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) December 12, 2021

While Leclerc has worked towards improving his race day performances, his qualifying performances have been impressive since his debut season with Alfa Romeo, then Sauber, in 2018.

The Ferrari man went on to acknowledge that at times this season, he has focussed more on his race pace, possibly sacrificing some of his performance on a saturday. He continued to admit it is a balance which he is still working towards finding at the end of his third year as part of the team.

“I feel good whenever we need to do some tyre management, I feel like I’m going a good job,” he said. 

“But there is still a lot more to work on, maybe a balance from my qualifying to the race that I probably didn’t find yet and sometimes I sacrificed a little bit more my qualifying to be better in the race as we’ve seen a few times this season. 

“But it’s a balance that I’m working on to try and get the perfect balance in between quali and race.”