“He attacks without doing anything stupid,” Charles Leclerc praised for keeping his composure on track
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Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc is currently sitting pretty at top of the driver’s standings in the 2022 Formula One season so far and Dr. Ricciardo Ceccarelli who started working with the Monegasque when he was only 13 years old has applauded him for developing “full mental control” over his driving ability.
In his early racing days, Charles Leclerc used to get criticized for not being able to handle his anger while getting into battles on track. Back then his fiercest rival was none other than Max Verstappen, the duo grew up together around the karting circuits and got into intense tussles from time to time.
Their battle was so cutthroat that once everything boiled over and the two clashed in the race and got each other disqualified, at the time they were only 14 years old.
According to Ceccarelli, “Charles’ problem was to control his racing enthusiasm, which had led him to fight with Verstappen in the karts and to throw his team-mate off the track in a World Championship.”
“He gave Max a wheel spin after the finish line because he thought it was unfair. Charles couldn’t handle his anger. That was his weak point. We worked a lot on that and I think you can see the results.”
Ferrari was seen fighting in the mid-field during the recent seasons of Formula One but ever since the dawn of the new era in terms of regulations, the Maranello-based Ferrari team has emerged as the top dog in the sport ahead of teams like Red Bull and Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc has a healthy lead over the competition in 2022
The Monegasque driver has won two of the first three races of the 2022 season and with Max scoring 2 DNFs, Leclerc has managed to build a big lead over the others.
Leclerc is currently 34 points ahead of George Russell who is currently P2 in the driver’s standings after three races. Former Mercedes motorsports boss Norbert Haug has even backed him to take another step in his driving ability his year.
Ceccarelli said that the F1-75 plays into Leclerc’s strengths both as a driver and in his mind, as he “loses confidence” when a car isn’t to his liking.
Ferrari during the current season has become a team that has the potential of winning the Championship and with a solid car under him, Ceccarelli believes that Leclerc can now finally show himself as the “Champion driver” he feels he can be.
“Compared to last year, for me, the car has changed most of all,” Ceccarelli said. “Today it seems tailor-made for him and he can push it to the maximum. He has regained his confidence and can take it to the limit without taking risks.”
“A winner like Charles is, he wants to win and if he feels he doesn’t have the car he loses confidence and serenity. It’s frustrating, you take a few more risks, and you travel outside your comfort zone.”
“We’ve seen a lot of great drivers make mistakes when they were young in cars that weren’t winners. They don’t accept being beaten. And now that he has the car to win we see the champion, a driver who can make the difference.”
“At this moment Charles is able to use all his potential. He attacks without doing anything stupid, he is in full mental control. Today he has the peace of mind and the security of having a car that he can put wherever he wants.”
Leclerc is driving the best that he has ever driven in his Formula One career so far and for him, it is now all going to be about keeping his head down during the races and concentrating on his own race rather than worrying about the others.
The Monegasque has a healthy lead at the moment and during the upcoming Imola GP, he would be looking to further widen the margin between himself and the rest of the field.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)