Charles Leclerc had indicated five victories as the goal for the 2022 Formula 1 season, a target which is still within reach given that there are five races to go until the end of the championship, that overall remains positive in the eyes of the Ferrari driver.
The Monegasque had started the year giving the impression of being able to dominate given that in the first three races he achieved two pole positions, two wins, a second place and three fastest laps out of three. After the overwhelming victory in Australia, Charles Leclerc had defined his Ferrari F1-75 “a beast” and after three rounds he had a 46-point advantage over Max Verstappen, who was forced to retire on two occasions due to technical problems in Bahrain and in Australia.
From Imola onwards, however, the comeback of Max Verstappen and Red Bull began: in a few races not only did the Dutchman close the gap, but also built an advantage over Charles Leclerc, who was able to score only one more race win in Austria, at the end of a Sunday in which he suffered accelerator problem in the last few laps, but showed his amazing talent by managing the issues and winning at the Red Bull Ring.
It is no coincidence that when faced with the question of how he would define himself as a driver, he chose “aggressive and versatile”, a description certified not only by the end of the race held at the Red Bull Ring, but in general this season taking into consideration the new generation of ground effect F1 cars. The Monegasque driver was in fact able to adapt to the new cars much faster than his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz.
Charles Leclerc joined Scuderia Ferrari in 2019 and at the end of that year he signed a contract extension with the Italian side valid until 2024. And Charles admitted the prospect of racing for Ferrari his entire F1 career fascinates him: “To stay in red forever would be wonderful. To drive for Ferrari is every driver’s dream and I’m living it.” – the Monegasque driver recently said in an interview for Corriere dello Sport.
After a positive 2019 season, his adventure with Ferrari experienced difficult moments in 2020 and 2021, but 2022 marked the a string comeback for the Maranello team, as Charles pointed out:
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“Who would have bet a year ago on the competitiveness we have today? By continuing to work like this, the title will come soon. Further steps are needed, but I have faith in the project”. During the Italian Grand Prix weekend in Monza, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto stressed that the Maranello team still lacked two steps to be entitled to fight for the Formula 1 world title, namely to correct the errors that emerged in 2022 and definitively have a winning mentality.
President John Elkann has indicated 2026 as the deadline by which Ferrari should win a Drivers ‘title and a Constructors’ title.
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