Charles Leclerc Rues Missing Golden Opportunity While Pinning the Blame on Ferrari

Ferrari’s blistering start to the 2022 season gave the Tifosi hopes of a long-awaited resurgence. However, some bizarre tire and race strategies played spoilsport for the Prancing Horse. Looking back at the season, Charles Leclerc termed the campaign “frustrating” and blamed the team for it.

Charles Leclerc had the best of the starts to the 2022 season. The Monegasque won 2 races from the first three fixtures as Red Bull struggled with the car’s weight and reliability issues. He even managed to build a gulf of 46 points between himself and Max Verstappen. However, as the season progressed, Leclerc could only manage one more win, while Max Verstappen showed the kind of dominance that F1 fans had rarely witnessed before.

Charles Leclerc looks back at the missed opportunities in 2022

While Red Bull mechanics’ work and Max Verstappen’s brilliance were the reason for Ferrari taking a back seat, the red team’s own failures were equally to be blamed. We saw Charles Leclerc finish behind the Dutchman frequently, despite starting from the pole position. Mostly, it all came down to poor strategy and untimely pit stops.

Speaking during the FIA award ceremony, Leclerc said, “Not very satisfying, to be honest. Looking back on the season, I think it was a good year, especially compared to 2020 and 2021, which were very difficult years for the team.” [Translated using Google]

“But obviously looking a little closer there was a part of the mid-season that was frustrating where we really couldn’t get it right on Sunday.”

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While Charles finished as the runner-up in the drivers’ standings, his teammate Carlos Sainz could only manage 5th. The Spaniard struggled with the car’s reliability issues and some bad luck throughout the season. Sainz had 6 DNFs owing to some unlucky crashes and some failures in the car.

Carlos Sainz puts the 2022 season among his most challenging

While Carlos Sainz secured multiple podium finishes, he managed only a single win throughout the season. Carlos struggled to adapt to the car while some unlucky outings made the job tougher. He looked back at the season in an interview with Formula 1.

Carlos said, “I had tougher and easier years, but never such a challenging year as 2022.”

“I found myself in a position where I was driving with this car, I was constantly off the pace in the first five, six races, and I had to fight a lot to change some things in my driving, some things on the car, try to get the car a bit closer to my liking.”

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Ferrari are going through turbulent times as the team principal Mattia Binotto tendered his resignation. As the management looks for his replacement, the Tifosi will hope for better results going ahead.