Charles Leclerc teamed up with Carlos Sainz for the 2021 season, as the Ferrari duo looked to get the team closer to winning ways. While many expected Leclerc to make beat Sainz on their first season together, it didn’t turn out that way. After the season finale, Sainz is P5, 5.5 points ahead of his Monegasque teammate, even if the Spaniard finished behind him more often and was outqualified more times over the season.

Charles and Carlos's first season together 👀

What might they achieve in 2022? 🤔 #F1 @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/hJmWnogBmx

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 17, 2021

Their boss at Ferrari, Mattia Binotto has shed light on why Leclerc should be “a lot further up” in the table, mentioning his bad luck in a pair of races costing him “at least 40 points”:

“We should not forget this season, at least a couple of examples, like Budapest and Monaco, when he didn’t score – but I think he has been unlucky as a driver in those occasions.

“Without that, it is difficult to say where he would have finished – but there is at least 40 points missing in his classification.

“Without that I think he would have been a lot further ahead in the championship, which is why I can only judge very positively his season.”

Binotto also praised the Monegasque’s qualifying speed – which earned him pole positions at Monaco and Azerbaijan – but more importantly his “progress” in learning to manage tyres, race situations and pace:

“For Charles’ overall performance, I’m very happy with the progress he has made this season.

“He’s been very fast in the qualifying, even in the last part of the year when maybe Carlos was challenging him a bit more – but he has always been very fast.

“He has learned how to manage his tyres, how to manage race situations and race paces, so quite pleased on the progress he made,” he concluded.