'Charles Leclerc has been exceptional on many occasions in 2022'

‘Charles Leclerc has been exceptional on many occasions in 2022’ – Laurent Mekies. Laurent Mekies on Charles' first part of 2022.

Charles Leclerc’s scream after leaving the track in the French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet risks becoming the symbol of the regrets for Ferrari fans in this 2022 Formula 1 championship.

As the Monegasque driver himself pointed out at the end of the race held in France, Charles Leclerc is responsible of 32 of the 80 points that currently separate him from Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, a difficult gap to bridge with only nine races still to go until the end of the season, also because on at least two other occasions the Ferrari driver will have to run from the back of the starting grid due to new engine parts.

Charles Leclerc made a mistake in France and Imola, but the incidents had a big impact in terms of points lost, alongside the issues linked to reliability (two such moments, in Spain and at the Baku City circuit) and, above all, the mistakes made by the Maranello team pit wall at the level of strategies in Monaco, Silverstone and Hungary.

Team principal Mattia Binotto immediately defended Charles Leclerc after the mistake in France, emphasizing that he is a champion. Words that have been echoed by those of sporting director Laurent Mekies. The former FIA man stressed that the Monegasque driver is equipped with such a speed that the percentage errors are very few compared to the amount of feats achieved. “Also this year Charles Leclerc has shown to have such exceptional speed that it is an aspect which should not even be discussed – explained Laurent Mekies in a recent interview ahead of summer break – “Charles does not need us to understand, as a great driver, how far you have to push in terms of reaching the limit. He is a master at this and mistakes can happen just as we do too. Let’s not look at the single mistake, but at the percentage of sensational performances by Charles, who was indeed exceptional on many more occasions than when he made a mistake. And we don’t want anything to change.” – Scuderia Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies added.