Charles Leclerc is, as always, the harshest judge of himself. Beyond what the SF-24 will allow him on the feared Suzuka circuit, Charles Leclerc will be called upon to provide some answers this weekend. Nothing of absolute value, but still important after a post-Melbourne period during which some question marks emerged.
The Monegasque driver knows it’s part of the game, just as he knows he can rely on a better car compared to last year’s Japanese Grand Prix edition, still not enough to bother Max Verstappen but more balanced than twelve months ago.
Charles Leclerc has sent some messages regarding the Alonso-Russell affair and also towards those in F1 who judge a driver solely on the last race. All this in memory of Jules Bianchi, to whom he will dedicate the livery of his helmet this weekend.
What do you think of the two victories obtained by Carlos (Singapore and Melbourne)? Do you feel any pressure related to having to beat him since he will leave the team next year?
“I would lie if I said I’m happy thinking about this aspect, victories are important and the points at the end of the season are even more so, but at the same time, I want Ferrari to win as soon as possible. Carlos has done an extraordinary job and has won, now it’s up to me to react and, hopefully, win the next race. In Formula 1, many people base their opinions on the last race, but if I look at my last eight or nine weekends, I believe they have been consistently of a high level.”
“Unfortunately, in most of those races, it wasn’t possible to win, but I am aware that it’s up to me to be present every time the opportunity arises, and I wasn’t in Singapore and Melbourne. Finally, I want to say that the fact that Carlos won’t be in Ferrari next year doesn’t add any pressure.”
Everyone says that this weekend will be very important to evaluate the real position of the teams. Do you agree with this?
“I don’t know what is meant by ‘very important’. I believe that every race is very important; at this stage, we are building a clearer picture of what our weaknesses and strengths are. I think this track will allow us to understand more about the field values in high-speed sections, which will probably help a bit more to place our position relative to our opponents in that type of corners.”
It seems that the gap with Red Bull is narrowing. How big do you think it is at the moment?
“The data tells us that Red Bull should be ahead this weekend, especially in the race. We have a certain strength on tracks where there is graining on the front axle, in Australia, this aspect was important, but I don’t think we’ll find these conditions here in Suzuka, so we should see Red Bull back in the position of the first two races. On our part, we want to bring home the maximum possible points, today we are only four points behind Red Bull, a margin that doesn’t represent our real value in terms of performance, but denotes that a particularly good job has been done in maximizing what we have at the moment.”
Does the SF-24 have more evident weaknesses?
“There are always weaknesses on a car, we know where we need to improve. I think the overall package needs to be faster; in qualifying with new tires, we are quite close to Red Bull, but we struggle a bit more with used tires.”
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Carlos was more efficient in qualifying in Melbourne. Have you found the reasons for this relative lack of performance?
“What happened in qualifying is my responsibility. I came from excellent qualifying sessions, but in Australia, I didn’t do a good job on Saturday, and this also impacted the race because we were forced to anticipate the first pit stop because of Lando and Oscar. The second stint was very long, so it was a bit more difficult to manage that phase of the race, but I repeat, it’s all connected to qualifying. I tried something in Q3 that didn’t work, that’s all.”
Just to clarify, were you free to race with Carlos in Australia?
“At some point, I was asked not to fight, and honestly, it made sense. I don’t think I would have had the opportunity in any case because Carlos and I ended up with slightly different strategies, only at one point in the race, when I had new tires, could I have pushed more, but at the same time, I knew I had to complete many laps with that set of tires, so I think it made sense for everyone not to overdo it. And, anyway, considering the positions I qualified in, I don’t think I would have made it.”
What characteristics of this track could be suitable for your car?
“We should be closer than last year, for sure. We have worked a lot on this car to improve performance in high-speed sections, and in general, it’s a more predictable car compared to last season.”
What is your opinion about the Russell-Alonso incident?
“What Fernando did in Australia I think was a bit too much, he should have been penalized. However, I believe there is something to examine when it comes to penalty criteria; there are too many variables. If the safety car had come in with the penalty Fernando received, he would have fallen to the last position, instead, as the race went, he only lost two positions. So, I think there is something to reflect on, I have always thought that penalties should be evaluated in ‘positions’, whereas with time penalties, everything depends on external circumstances.”
Do you think it’s clear what can be done or not when you have to defend your position, or do you think it remains a gray area considering what Fernando did in Australia?
“I think it’s clear what can be done and what cannot, then you can always try to write it even clearer. But I’m of the idea that we will never be able to put in the rules all possible scenarios; common sense is needed. There may be situations where it’s clear to everyone that someone deserves a penalty, even if this particular scenario is not described in the rules.”
Do you believe that the updates will allow you to attack Red Bull continuously?
“I can’t say when we will bring the upgrades, but we are trying to squeeze as much as possible on the development front to have them as soon as possible.”
It’s been 10 years since Jules’ accident…
“Every time I come here, I have Jules in mind. I often think of him; he was the person who helped me get where I am now, already in 2010, he talked about me to Nicolas (Todt) who is now my manager, so he could support me in the path to F1.”
“Jules was the turning point in my career, but even before, we were extremely close, us and our families. So it’s a very special place where we are, this weekend I will dedicate the helmet livery to him, and he will always, always be in my heart.”
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