Charles Leclerc admits that the difference between Ferrari's qualifying and race performances was "not the easiest thing to deal with" during the 2022 season. The Monegasque claimed nine pole positions throughout the year, beating World Champion Max Verstappen's total of eight. However, while Verstappen won a record-breaking 15 races en route to his second title, Leclerc ended the campaign with just three victories to his name, with the Scuderia's challenge to Red Bull losing momentum as the season progressed. Problems including strategy mishaps, driver errors and reliability woes resulted in difficult Sundays for the Italian team, something that Leclerc acknowledges was a struggle.
Leclerc reflects on Sunday issues
"It's obviously not the easiest thing to deal with," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.com . "But, on the other hand, you just need to be honest with yourself and maximise the package you have. "[During 2022 we were] just struggling in the races, or at least Red Bull seemed to do a step forward in the races that we don't seem to [have been able to] find for now." Leclerc is hopeful that Ferrari can address the problem going forwards. "We are looking into it and I hope we can find that next step very soon," he added.
The areas Ferrari are working on for 2023
During the last few races of 2022, Leclerc felt that he had seen some positive signs in regards to areas that Ferrari could improve on for the season ahead. "I did [see improvements] in strategy and communication. I think we are improving [in that]," the five-time race winner said. "In terms of tyre management, there's still quite a bit of work to do. "I do believe that there are some signs that we are going into the right direction, but now we just need to put them all together in order to show it."
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