Leclerc Marks 2023 Season 'Disappointing' Even After Strong Finish

Sunday, 03 December 2023 at 12:00

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc reflected on the 2023 season after the final race in Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit.

Scuderia Ferrari finished third in the 2023 season. While some teams on the grid dream of such a result, the Italian team is in Formula One only to win.

The team's principal, Frederic Vasseur, recently said the level of expectation was a bit too high before the 2023 season, and the Italian team understood the situation after a couple of laps at the first stop of the F1 calendar in Bahrain.

Charles Leclerc also admitted pretty much the same thing when he said the season had been disappointing as the team hoped to fight for the championship. He told the media:

"To be honest, it's been a disappointing season. After last year, we expected to come to this season and try and fight for the championship which after the first race, we straightaway understood how difficult it will be compared to the Red Bull, that had done a huge step forward, especially in race pace."

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F1 is a sport where it does not matter how big of a step-forward a team makes if their competitor makes a bigger one, and that accurately describes Ferrari's situation.

"We didn't do the same step. So from that moment onwards, it was a bit disappointing."

However, Leclerc highlighted the progress. Ferrari went from lacking more than 30 seconds on Red Bull in first place to winning one race in Singapore and challenging Red Bull to win in Monza and Las Vegas.

"On the other hand, if you just look at this season – forget about last season – I think we've progressed quite a lot throughout the season, which is positive and makes me confident for the future."

Red Bull Racing stopped bringing upgrades to their car in the middle of the season and remained competitive until the end, which suggests the team is still far ahead and had even more time to focus on the 2024 car. Leclerc concluded:

"But there's a big gap to fill to get back the Red Bulls, so we'll work hard during the winter break. Hopefully, we'll come back stronger next year with a car that is capable of winning."