Charles Leclerc has highlighted Ferrari’s pivotal enchancment in sustaining emotional management all through the 2024 F1 season, which performed a vital function of their success.
The long-lasting Maranello group clinched 5 victories and completed second within the Constructors’ Championship, partaking in a fierce battle with McLaren for the title, which in the end got here right down to the ultimate race in Abu Dhabi.
Regardless of narrowly lacking out on the championship, the Italian facet had a extremely optimistic 2024 System 1 marketing campaign. The Maranello group confronted a big mid-season setback after an aerodynamic improve to the SF-24 launched on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona led to a decline when it comes to efficiency, costing them beneficial factors throughout a number of races whereas they labored to handle the difficulty. As soon as the basis reason behind the issue was recognized and glued, Ferrari bounced again strongly. Charles Leclerc believes that whereas the mid-season “gap” they fell into might have in the end value them the title, he doesn’t really feel regretful about what may have been completed in a different way.
“Trying again at it, I’m glad with the season,” the Monegasque driver mentioned in a latest interview for the morning day by day newspaper New York Occasions. “I feel it’s not been fairly often the place I look again and I really feel like there’s been little or no missed alternatives.” – he identified.
“There was a gap of efficiency after Monaco for 2, three races the place we had an improve that didn’t work correctly, and we needed to put the automotive in locations that we didn’t wish to put it, however we needed to be taught one thing out of it. We’re within the place we’re in now, as a result of we have now gone by means of these things for 2, three races. So I wouldn’t change that, and I feel we did the best alternative as a group, so placing every part collectively, I feel it’s been a optimistic season. I feel on the finish of the day, we have now simply missed efficiency, particularly originally of the season, so as to be preventing for higher issues. However I feel when it comes to the group maximising what we had, we did a extremely good job.” – the Ferrari man continued.
Following Ferrari’s sturdy end to the 2024 System 1 season, the legendary purple group is extensively considered one of many high contenders for subsequent 12 months. This label of being a possible favourite was additionally hooked up to Ferrari earlier than the beginning of this season, after a promising conclusion to 2023. Nevertheless, the Maranello group initially struggled to match the tempo of Pink Bull, falling brief within the early phases of the marketing campaign.
When requested whether or not Ferrari has one thing new in retailer for the winter so as to dwell as much as these excessive expectations, Charles Leclerc acknowledged the problem of predicting their efficiency. He defined, “It’s a really troublesome query to reply, as a result of System 1 is in the end a relative sport, and we are able to solely really know the specifics of what we’re doing ourselves. I’ve excellent confidence that we’re doing every part proper for the time being, and as a group, we’re much more stable. I’m not talking actually a lot in regards to the technical a part of it, that once more, every part is relative, and we don’t know if Pink Bull or McLaren have been specializing in subsequent 12 months’s automotive and located one thing very particular for subsequent 12 months’s automotive. So it is vitally troublesome to say something on that matter. We’re simply specializing in ourselves and making an attempt to the absolute best job.” – the Monegasque driver added.
Scuderia Ferrari’s restoration after a troublesome mid-season stretch highlighted a big shift beneath the management of group principal Frederic Vasseur. Traditionally, when challenges arose, Ferrari typically struggled to recuperate, however this time, the complete group labored collectively to beat the adversity.
Charles Leclerc attributes this transformation to the truth that the group’s mechanics and engineers are now not as “emotionally affected” by setbacks, which he believes was a serious concern previously because of the emotional weight of the Ferrari model.
Charles Leclerc defined that the mentality inside the group and their method to work has considerably improved, making them a way more stable and cohesive unit. He acknowledged that Ferrari has all the time been pushed by immense ardour, which has motivated everybody to place in additional effort and try for enchancment. Nevertheless, he identified that previously, the sturdy emotional connection to the model typically made group members extra affected when issues went incorrect, a phenomenon much less obvious in different groups.
The Monegasque emphasised that though the fervour stays sturdy inside Ferrari, the group is now far much less emotionally influenced by exterior pressures or inner challenges, a growth he considers a really optimistic step ahead.