Leclerc Brushes Off Improved ‘Charles 2.0’ Notion Despite Impressive 2022 Charge

Apr 8, 2022 | 11:07 AM EDT

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The iconic Albert Park is all set to witness a Formula 1 race for the first time since 2019. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Australian Grand Prix did not go ahead as planned for two years. However, the return of the race week in Melbourne has seen a huge turnout on Friday. On the track, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are the two in the spotlight for the World Championship this year.

Leclerc topped the FP2 session by setting an impressive time at 1:18:978. Max Verstappen, as expected, was hot on his heels with only 0.245 seconds behind the Monegasque. Meanwhile, the Ferrari driver believes there is no new version of him this year. According to Leclerc, the impact of fighting for the championship makes everyone think he is a better driver than he was in 2021.

Charles Leclerc feels he was unlucky last year

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Leclerc has endured a solid start to the season. Ferrari’s hopes of ending the long drought without a championship well and truly depend on the Monegasque. He is on top of the driver’s standings after a win in Bahrain, followed by a P2 finish in Saudi Arabia. However, he feels his margin of improvement is less compared to what many feel.

He said, “What I don’t like is that I’ve seen it in a lot of places and I don’t like to see it, the ‘Charles 2.0’ allegations. There is no such thing. Yes, I’ve had a linear progress year after year.”

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Leclerc believes he was unlucky last year after he ended up in 7th place. He added, “I don’t talk much about luck, but to be honest, last year I lost a lot of points, I lost a lot of valuable points out of my control. As a result of this, I lost very seriously at the end of the year.” the 24-year-old recalled.

Ferrari’s 2020 season was disappointing, to say the least. The car struggled for reliability amid being slow on the straights. Although they improved in 2021, Leclerc only finished 7th behind his teammate Carlos Sainz. The former Alfa Romeo driver believes he performed well but did not grab the headlines as he was not competing for the Championship.

Watch This Story: F1 Drivers Fighting on Track

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“Other than that, when you are fighting between 7th and 4th place, even if you perform very well, nobody notices it. That makes things difficult,” explained Leclerc, who is already a favorite to win the title this year.

Leclerc and Verstappen have set the benchmark in the first two races. Can the Monegasque be Ferrari’s youngest World Champion? It remains to be seen.