The car last year was not great. How is the SF21?
Charles Leclerc: “The car is gonna be better, that’s for sure. But in F1, it’s not only up to us. We need to see what the other teams are doing or have done and we won’t know until the first laps. We made progress but the others did too. It won’t be easy but once again we will be a bit better than last year, even though it’s not yet where I want to be. 2021 is like a transition year. 2022 will be like a revolution, it’s going to be a real opportunity”
On which area do you think you need to work harder on a personal level?
Charles Leclerc: “There is one thing I’ve been working on very hard for the past 2 years: tyre management. It stays my main point because it’s where I can gain the most. I’m trying to learn as much as I can.”
How do you approach this year mentally? Do you want to take revenge because of how 2020 went?
Charles Leclerc: “It was complicated in 2020. 2019 was pretty positive, we were fighting for podiums and wins and sadly 2020 was such a step backwards. We are all very motivated, but we are also realistic and we know it will take time to be back at the top.”
23 races this year…
Charles Leclerc: “It is gonna be long and tough. We have a lot of Covid tests to do. It is not gonna be easy & I’m guessing there is going be some changes to our calendar due to it, so we need to wait and see but it is true that the calendar is packed.”
How do you handle the last few days before a new season?
Charles Leclerc: “There is a lot of preparation. A lot of meetings to prepare the first laps, to remember the procedures and so on. We try to be as ready as possible.”
Is it possible to end the Mercedes domination and to prevent Lewis to win a new championship?
Charles Leclerc: “In 2021 we need to be realistic. It is going to be really really really hard to beat them. As I was saying before, in F1 when you are a bit behind, it takes really long to go back to the top. But I hope we will be back by 2022.”
Do you feel like your status inside the team has changed after Seb left?
Charles Leclerc: “I don’t think it changed much..”
Are you the leader now?
Charles Leclerc: “Well, okay you can see it that way. But it doesn’t change much. I know I am the more experienced driver of the team, by that I mean, it will be my 3rd year within Ferrari and it will only be the first for Carlos. But in the end I want to be the best and to have the best result possible. It was already my objective last year. I hope we will work well with Carlos outside the car, to help the team going in the right direction.”
How did you react when you heard that Carlos was coming to your team?
Charles Leclerc: “I have known Carlos since I have been in F1. He is a bit older so we never been together in other categories but I’m getting along very well with him. Carlos never had a winning car before but in the paddock we all know he is good and I can confirm it. So it motivates me. He is quick. We will push each other to give the best of ourselves.”
Was there tension with Seb sometimes?
Charles Leclerc: “Sometimes it was complicated on track but outside the car there has always been a lot of respect. It was really great to have so much respect between us. Even tough sometimes I read on the media that we were not getting along, it was false. There has never been any issue outside the car. But yes, when we had the helmet on, he was the one I wanted to beat the most. In F1, the teammate is the one you want to beat, because he has the same car. But we found our balance with that. Yes, we had some issues on track like Brazil 2019 or Austria 2020 but this is part of racing. It’s fine.”
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