Charles Leclerc admits that he feels more frustrated looking back at the 2022 F1 season now than he did during the year. The Monegasque started the campaign off strongly, having led a 1-2 result for Ferrari at the first Grand Prix on the calendar in Bahrain before going on to clinch a second win in Australia. However, the Scuderia's challenge lost momentum as the year progressed, with the Italian outfit experiencing strategy problems, driver errors and reliability woes, while Red Bull and Max Verstappen were able to surge ahead to clinch both championships. Leclerc still beat Sergio Perez to P2 in the Drivers' Championship, marking his highest finish of his Formula 1 career so far, but he acknowledges that he has mixed feelings about the season as a whole.
Not much satisfaction from splitting Red Bull drivers
When asked at the FIA Prize Giving ceremony if he had felt much satisfaction from splitting the two Red Bull drivers in the championship, Leclerc explained that this was not the case. "[There was] not too much satisfaction, to be honest," the 25-year-old told media, including RacingNews365.com . "Looking back at the season, I think it's been a good season. Especially looking at 2020 and 2021, [which were] two very difficult years for the team. "It wasn't a given that we [would take] such a step forward and finish second in the Drivers' Championship, and also second in the Constructors' Championship, so that I'm happy [about]. "But then, obviously, looking a bit more into the season closely, there's been the middle part of the season that has been very frustrating, where we didn't really put everything together coming to Sunday. "So [I have] mixed feelings about this season, but second place is quite good. I just hope it is a step forward, and that for next year we can do another step forward."
Why Leclerc felt more frustrated at end of 2022
While Leclerc has been open about the frustrations of the campaign, he believes that this has actually been more difficult to deal with in the aftermath of the year rather than at the time it was happening, given that the busy nature of the season does not allow much time to pause. "I think in the heat of the moment and in the heat of the season, races are coming quite quickly, so it's okay," the Ferrari driver said. "It's just at the end of the season, then you look back at it and feel it more, but during the season, it wasn't that difficult."
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