Charles Leclerc says he hasn’t felt any extra pressure in his first half-season as a Ferrari driver.
Leclerc stepped up to Ferrari from Sauber (now Alfa Romeo) last year. He has come close to victories in Bahrain and Austria, but narrowly missed out, and suffered crashes in qualifying at Azerbaijan and during the race in Germany.Although he is one of the youngest and least experienced drivers to join Ferrari in recent seasons, Leclerc says he is able to deal with the extra attention which comes with the role.
“The pressure, I really don’t feel it,” he said. However he admitted one of the more challenging aspects of his promotion has been getting used to a much bigger team.
“Obviously being a Ferrari driver is always a dream come true but it also is quite a lot more work. You need to work as hard as possible – coming in a top team in general there are a lot of people, you need to be understanding and learning how to work with so many people at the beginning coming from a smaller team. So this has been the biggest challenge for me.”
Leclerc has made clear gains in recent races, notably in the his qualifying performances. He says this has come about because he and the team have got to know each other better.
“I’m learning how to work with them but they are also learning how to work with me,” he said. “What I prefer in terms of set-ups in general, what is the car balance that I like to drive and things like this. So this is better races after races.”
He has already developed a reputation for being tough with himself on the radio when things go wrong, but he indicated this is not a sign of the strain he is under.
“It’s just the way I work,” he said. “I think it’s the best way forward to not to to find any excuses whenever you do a mistake but just to analyse it and be very honest with yourself. That’s what I’m trying to do every time.
“I’m definitely not ashamed to admit when I’ve done a mistake and I’ve done one at the end it’s quite clear. So no need to find an excuse.”
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Sham (@sham)
20th August 2019, 8:01
He has been very impressive this year, himself as much as his driving. And he’ll only get better.
Ivan Vinitskyy (@ivan-vinitskyy)
20th August 2019, 8:22
It’s all to do with Vettel, what pressure could there be when the only real person who could be applying it is underperforming that much.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
20th August 2019, 10:37
Yet Vettel is still ahead of him.
Alex Limpkin
20th August 2019, 11:30
Yes, only just. Not very good for a four times world champion.
Rockgod (@rockgod)
20th August 2019, 19:10
And don’t forget that the team orders helped Vettel quite a bit to get that that lead.
Only Facts!
20th August 2019, 8:51
If he’s not feeling the pressure, there’s something wrong. Anybody would feel the pressure of driving for Ferrari.
Maybe that’s because his performance has been higher than expected. He sure does not recieve the type of pressure Vettel faces everyday. Vettel status as #1 lightens Leclerc’s load.
He’s been saved from the natural passionate criticism he should be getting for letting Verstappen dive on the inside at Austria. Or that kamikaze drive at Monaco.
But that’s about to change soon. Now that the Tifosi realized how good he is, they will raise their expectations. And the pressure will come.
René (@)
20th August 2019, 8:52
The pressure will come if he keeps making mistakes.
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
20th August 2019, 9:16
Because he’s not the one supposed to deliver every weekend. Pressure will come when results will be expected constantly.
Islander
20th August 2019, 12:04
Chatter on my son, chatter on.
Another off at Spa?
For your sake I hope not…
Adam (@rocketpanda)
20th August 2019, 12:08
He’s probably not feeling the pressure of driving for Ferrari that much as he’s piling a lot of pressure on himself. Guy needs to relax. He’s very good but he really doesn’t seem to let go of mistakes easily and races like his life depends on it. Fast but doesn’t look comfortable to me.
wayne
20th August 2019, 12:14
proof is always in the pudding… or on the track. as some one has said once the expectations are kot met then will the real leclerc please stand up!
Dave
20th August 2019, 13:24
Not feeling the pressure because the team’s underperforming…
Aleš Norský (@gpfacts)
20th August 2019, 16:10
Maybe he is not feeling any extra pressure, but I believe he must feel some frustration…surely he expected to be a GP winner by now?!
Yaru
21st August 2019, 3:20
Of course he isn’t – he isn’t as inempt as they (the current team) are.
Ken
22nd August 2019, 17:34
Well, Ferrari is about to sign him through 2024 which will give him a big boost of confidence.
If his turbo wouldn’t have broken while he was well ahead of the field coupled with Red screwing him strategy wise several times, he would be well ahead of Seb.
It’s him and Max for the future – I’m looking forward to it.