Charles Leclerc rated his 2021 season, saying that it has been the most demanding one he has ever competed.
Leclerc and Ferrari shook the horrors of 2020 away and did excellently this year. Barring an extraordinary collapse, they will clinch P3 in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of rivals McLaren, who were in the position for most of the season until the Scuderia’s epic comeback.
On the personal front, the Monegasque is doing well in the Drivers’ Championship. He can clinch P5 ahead of favourite Lando Norris should he do better than him at Abu Dhabi. It has been a remarkable couple of months for him and for Ferrari, and the two-time race winner knows it.
Leclerc rated his 2021 season, and said that he was made to work harder than any season prior to it.
“The fight with Lando is still wide open,” he said, as quoted by thecheckeredflag.co.uk.
“Clearly, I’d like to stay fifth, but most of all I want to enjoy myself.
“It’s been an intense season, which has seen us make constant progress and the fight for third place, which has come good in the final part of the year, is proof of that.”
Smooth operator
Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz raced his first season for Ferrari this year, and has been exceptional throughout. The Spaniard walks into Abu Dhabi mathematically in the hunt for P5 as well, which is a testament to his reliability and pace in red.
“I’d say it’s been the best year of my career, in terms of my progress as a driver and as a person, because I found myself going through an experience that was completely different to anything I’d been through before, in the most historic Formula 1 team, which came with a lot more pressure,” he said.
“I think I made steady progress over the course of the season, improving my understanding with the team and of the car.
“That increased and in the last few races, I reached a strong level. I want to enjoy this final weekend of 2021 and end it with a good result, maybe even giving a small thought to fifth or sixth in the classification.”
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