“On paper, we were a bit behind Red Bull,” Charles Leclerc surprised by Ferrari pace

“On paper, we were a bit behind Red Bull,” Charles Leclerc surprised by Ferrari pace

The Kaspersky logo on the Ferrari car as seen previously

The world of Formula-1 returned to Melbourne after 1,120 days at a track full of renovations. For the first time in 25 years, this was a weekend full of unknowns. Every single factor such as how the new 18-inch tyres are going to behave or which setup would be the most favourable for this circuit. At the end of the Sunday, the Ferrari team stood tall and won the race with a comfortable 20 second gap to the rest of the field. 

The driver in the lead of world championship, Charles Leclerc currently was astounded with the performance of his Ferrari car. The Ferrari team began the 2022 season as the favourites to win the world championship this season. However, coming second to Red Bull at the Saudi Arabia grand-prix, Ferrari had a fight on their hands this weekend. The change in track layout made it difficult to determine the favourites for the weekend and Charles Leclerc was worried about finishing behind rivals. 

Delighted with the turnaround for Ferrari: Charles Leclerc

Increasing his lead at the front to 34 points, Charles Leclerc delivered his first Ferrari grand slam. He dominated the race and found it an unexpected result. The championship leader said “On paper, we were a bit behind Red Bull but apparently, well, we were stronger than we thought. It was a good surprise. Definitely. I am only giving the feedback of what I want from the car and then its up to the guys in Maranello to do a stronger engine, a reliable engine, a good car, and they’ve managed just that this season.

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The Ferrari team is on a bounce back after losing its mojo in recent years with winning two out of the three races so far. On this Leclerc commented  “I’m incredibly happy and incredibly proud to be driving for Ferrari and it shows how great they are because for the last few years it wasn’t a given that we would be at this level and we are.We need to keep pushing, the season is long but it’s an extremely good start.”

The season is still in very early stages with 20 races to go. Each team is fighting the race for development and a question remains who can unlock the most out of their car, come the season finale at Abu Dhabi. 

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