After the Formula 3 Hungarian Grand Prix races, Ferrari Driver Academy member Arthur Leclerc, brother of Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, was interviewed by Italian weekly magazine Autosprint. Here are some of the most important comments from the Ferrari junior:
What balance would you make for your second season in Formula 3 so far?
Arthur Leclerc: “Honestly, I am completely satisfied with how things are going. I’m third in the championship with chances to fight for the title, my goal for 2022. There were ups and downs, some due to my mistakes and also some bad luck. Anyway I keep focusing on myself and I can say that performance wise I believe I’ve matured and I am more competitive than in 2021. This goes also for the work I do with the team. For this reason I can only declare myself confident ahead of the last 3 race weekends of the season. The standings are super tight since I am third but only nine points behind leaders [Martins&Hadjar 104] with still 6 races to go. I would say the title fight is still open.”
This year the fight in Formula 3 is very balanced and every mistake is very costly. What are the areas of improvement on this?
Arthur Leclerc: “The first one is obvious: I have to reduce even more the number of mistakes sometimes characterizing my driving as happened in Budapest Sprint Race. It is about finding good balance between my propensity to attack, always aiming to win and the inevitable risks added to this. I’ve been working on this since last year, I think I have improved and must keep committing myself. Prema and the Ferrari Driver Academy are helping me in this. This year it will be details, perfection to make the difference. I feel more confidence with the car race after race and I believe you can notice it also from the fact I arrive in the points with much more continuity despite not always perfect qualifying sessions. As for the other areas to improve I think we need to grow in qualifying when we go for pole. This year competition is very close. At least 3 teams are fighting for championship: Prema, Hitech and ART. Everyone tries to put the tiny bit that makes the difference every time we go on track. The difficulties we had in qualifying in Bahrain show how close we’re all in terms of performance”.
Your driving style shows a lot of confidence in yourself and your abilities, leading to a very determined attitude. Do you feel yourself as the master of the category now?
Arthur Leclerc: “I’ve always liked racing and it’s the taste of challenge and search for the limit that make me love this sport so so much. I adore competition and always have the desire to win. To succeed in this you must be faster than the others and then [having] to administrate [in a race] like an accountant is not exactly my thing. Number cruncher and driver’s works are two different things! Anyway, on track you also need to do maths and understand if the reward is appropriate to the risk and that’s what I meant speaking of finding right balance between calculations and propensity to always attack. In this season, one of the improvement goals is to learn to make also a bit of calculations and not to waste any point. That said, sometimes it can go well and when it happens, you must have the clarity to learn the lesson and not repeat them”
What is your driving philosophy?
Arthur Leclerc: “My approach is to always try to improve. As long as I perceive improvement I am satisfied. Of course, when you reach certain milestones it is the moment to raise the bar and set more: in 2022 we aim for title”
Sometimes seeing you race we get the impression that Formula 3 is too small for you already?
Arthur Leclerc: “Yes and no. On one side, looking at my speed and certain results we can be very happy and think of next steps of my career. Maybe we hoped to get in shape since the season start. On the other side I still have to learn and improve. Now I want to stay focused exclusively on Formula 3.”
F3 season ends in September in Monza: would you like to have the chance to step up to F2 already in the last races of 2022 like some drivers last year?
Arthur Leclerc: “On one side F2 is a goal and I hope it will be my next destination. At the same time it’s still far, I have six GPs to do. I want to win this championship then we’ll think abt future and what to do next”
How do you consider yourself as a driver and who is the driver, apart from your family, that inspired you the most?
Arthur Leclerc: “If I think of where I was a few years ago and where I started from, I know how to keep improving. At 14, after winning my first karting championship, I had to stop for economic reasons and I couldn’t race for several years. So I arrived in F4 with only one karting season behind me and big experience gap with rivals. Also for this there are still areas I have to work on to compensate the fact my rivals have had more continuity in their career. Despite progress, I know I still have a lot of work to do. The driver that inspired me the most and I loved seeing on tv was Ayrton Senna because he was always determined to win and he was really fast and my dad’s favourite”.
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If not racing, what would you have done in your life?
Arthur Leclerc: “I never thought of it because my love was and is racing and I have always hoped it could be part of my future. Had I not been able due to budget reasons, I would have dedicated myself to virtual racing: maybe I would be a sim driver of a certain level”
Is there a circuit you like most?
Arthur Leclerc: “Of the ones I raced I’d say Monza and Imola, two special places with the same passion, especially racing four an Italian team and representing the Ferrari Driver Academy. When representing Ferrari, you have all eyes pointed on you even racing in F3. Of course I would also like to race in Monaco, my home track where I hope to win as soon as possible. I have some very beautiful memories there especially of when Charles raced his first Grand Prix.”
The dream of a driver is to get to Formula 1. Ever think of what it would be like to race against your brother?
Arthur Leclerc: “Let’s clarify we’re talking of a dream, of something that right now is very far. But once in a while it’s pleasant to talk about dreams so it’s beautiful to imagine to get to the top of motorsport one day. It would be special to race Charles in F1, but paradoxically, in an absolute sense it would not be at all because we did so many races in karts together! One thing is sure and I know he thinks like me: when we put the helmet on and lower the visor, even Charles is my rival, no more my brother!”
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