Charles Leclerc says the Japanese updates have definitely helped his driving style, and Frédéric Vasseur agrees, elaborating on this.
The 2023 F1 season has been full of ups and downs for Ferrari’s Leclerc. Although there were moments when his form dipped compared to his teammate Carlos Sainz, Monaco’s Leclerc came back to life towards the end of the year, especially after the race. Latest information in Japan.
Although there were a few races where he won DSQ and DNS, Leclerc was faster in the Grand Prix and even fought for the lead. Monegas points to the updates Ferrari introduced in Japan as helpful.
“Depending on where we were racing, we had the second or third fastest car,” Leclerc said. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs. There were races where I was definitely the second fastest car and other races where I was probably the fourth or fifth fastest car, so it was really up and down.
“But I think the car upgrades since Japan have been a step in the right direction, especially for my driving style. I always prefer to have a strong front, but it feels more comfortable and has more I’ve been able to stay consistent. Yes, that’s a positive thing,” Leclerc summed up, also mentioning what has changed to help him.
Ferrari boss Vasseur agrees with Leclerc that this update has actually helped Leclerc progress, helping him stay within a close second in the race for fourth place in the championship. . “It’s a good analysis that we did a small upgrade in Japan. I don’t know if it was something big in terms of pure performance, but it was important in terms of comfort and it was very beneficial for Charles. ” he said. /p>
“But sometimes it’s the details that matter. After Japan, we have tracks we like and we can do a better job. After all, we’re talking about tenths of a second. , from one weekend to the next, you have to accept that they are athletes. Federer can win Wimbledon one day and lose the next.
“I always look at them as athletes, up and down, but what’s true in our business today is that if you look back five years ago, the Mercedes people could miss a corner and still be in pole position. This is probably true for everyone but Max, but also for Checo. This means you don’t have to jump to conclusions too much after making changes, etc.
“I think Charles was much better in the second half of the season, the last six or seven races. He made five or six of the last nine poles and it was a positive dynamic. I think we’ve taken another step forward a bit late in terms of consistency and the feeling that we’ve improved the car a little bit, which means we can maintain a more consistent performance during the race or have to put less pressure on it. I will.
“I’m happy with the last two events because they were completely opposite images: Las Vegas, very fast, very cold conditions; Abu Dhabi, a lot of medium-speed corners, very Hot conditions. We were there in any situation. “Red Bull is still faster than us, we still have room for improvement and at least compared to Zandvoort and some other events, we “We have taken a big step forward,” Vasseur concluded.
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