Charles Leclerc on self-criticism: "I am always very strict with myself"

Charles Leclerc on self-criticism: “I am always very strict with myself”. Charles on self-criticism.

During his career in Formula 1, which began in 2018 with his first season alongside the Sauber F1 team, Charles Leclerc has already proven several times a distinctive trait of his character: the strong ability, even excessive in certain circumstances, the tendency to engage in negative self-evaluation and self-criticism . Especially during his experience with Scuderia Ferrari, the Monegasque driver has never failed to take responsibility for a mistake or an accident, even going so far as to be quite hard on himself. This year the #16 showed this characteristic especially after the very bitter French Grand Prix: at the Paul Ricard circuit, Charles made a mistake while leading the race and crashed into the barriers, losing a certain victory.

A difficult moment in terms of points lost against his rival Max Verstappen, given that Charles’ retirement allowed the Red Bull man to go on and take another easy win, significantly increasing his advantage in the Drivers’ standings. The desperate “noooo” shouted by the Monegasque driver over the team radio went was clearly heard around the world, revealing the more human and emotional side of the 25-year-old from Monaco. Having analyzed his 2022 Formula One season during an interesting interview for the British website The Race, the Scuderia Ferrari driver was also asked about the incident in the French Grand Prix, looking back at it with an analytical view, however also acknowledging the merit of a Formula 1 season in which his driving errors have been objectively just a few.

“The most difficult moments for me are always my mistakes – explained Charles Leclerc – because I am always very strict with myself and every time I make a mistake I always react in a worse way than when someone else makes a mistake. Speaking of my mistakes this year, yes, I made one in France” – the Monegasque driver acknowledged again, as reported by The Race – “But honestly, speaking of the season in general, a mistake is always made at a certain point in a championship. This was a mistake that obviously cost a lot, because I was in the lead, but it can happen.” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver added.

Charles Leclerc was not perfect in the 2022 Formula 1 campaign and the capacity for an occasional high-profile error is still there. But this is also true for Max Verstappen and the Red Bull man in fact made more unforced errors than Charles Leclerc in 2022, yet at a lower magnitude: “I’ve always been very honest with myself and tried to learn from my mistakes and try to strengthen my weaknesses. I think the first few years it was always very clear where I was. For next year, it’s all about working in the details and just trying to improve in every single area by a little. That will make a difference in the end. But I feel a much more complete driver than I was.” – he concluded.