Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc now has “full mental control” over his emotion and driving style, while he was not always able to “handle his anger” as a young driver, according to a long-time associate.
CEO & Founder of Formula Medicine, Medical Doctor Riccardo Ceccarelli, started collaborating with Charles Leclerc when the Monegasque driver was just 13, having created a mental training programme which helps athletes in their development in heading into professional sport.
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen go way back, as the current Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull drivers were even karting rivals as kids: there are several videos online with their intense duels on track, one in particular that resulted in a clash which saw them both disqualified, when they were 14.
Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli admitetd that the current Scuderia Ferrari driver and World Championship leader had difficulties struggling with his anger in his younger days, but he has managed to turn that around as he has aged.
“Charles’ problem was to control his racing enthusiasm, which had led him to fight with Verstappen in the karts and to throw his team-mate off the track in a World Championship,” Ceccarelli told Italian newspaper Il Foglio – “He gave Max a wheel spin after the finish line because he thought it was unfair. Charles couldn’t handle his anger. That was his weak point. We worked a lot on that and I think you can see the results.” – he added.
After two difficult seasons fighting in the midfield zone, Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc can once again challenge for race wins in 2022, as the F1-75 car seems to be the class of the field in this first part of the F1 campaign. The Monegasque driver is currently leading the World Championship by 34 points ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after only three rounds in 2022, thanks to the victories in Bahrain and Australia, alongside a solid second place finish at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, as former Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug backed him to take “another step” in his driving ability this year.
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Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli confirmed that Scuderia Ferrari’s 2022 Formula One car plays into Charles Leclerc’s strengths both as a driver and in his mind, as he “loses confidence” when a car does not suit his driving style. Now that the Monegasque driver can count on a car which allows him to challenge Max Verstappen for race wins and potentially the Formula 1 World championship this year, he feels the Ferrari driver is able to express his entire potential and skills as “the champion” he can become.
“Compared to last year, for me the car has changed most of all. Today it seems tailor-made for him and he can push it to the maximum. He has regained his confidence and can take it to the limit without taking risks. A winner like Charles is, he wants to win and if he feels he doesn’t have the car he loses confidence and serenity. It’s frustrating, you take a few more risks, you travel outside your comfort zone. We’ve seen a lot of great drivers make mistakes when they were young in cars that weren’t winners. They don’t accept being beaten. And now that he has the car to win we see the champion, a driver who can make the difference. In this moment Charles is able to use all his potential. He attacks without doing anything stupid, he is in full mental control. Today he has the peace of mind and the security of having a car that he can put wherever he wants.” the CEO & Founder of Formula Medicine concluded.
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