In 2023, Red Bull put up the kind of dominance that F1 had never witnessed. Winning 21 out of 22 races, the Austrian outfit surpassed McLaren’s 1988 record for the highest win rate over a season. The Ayrton Senna-led side registered a 93.8% win rate while Red Bull bettered that courtesy of Max Verstappen’s 19-win season with 95.5%. While the season turned out the way it did, Charles Leclerc had already prepared for doom.
Even before the season began, the Monegasque was well aware of what was to come during the testing in Bahrain. After driving his Ferrari and witnessing what Red Bull’s RB19 was capable of, the Monegasque threw in the towel.
In a recent interview on the YouTube channel IDREAU, journalist Julien Fébreau recalled his conversation with Leclerc. Fébreau quoted him as saying, “It’s over, season is over.”
The Canal+ commentator tried consoling Leclerc, urging him not to come down heavy on himself. However, the 26-year-old remarked, “It’s not only me or Ferrari. Ferrari, Mercedes, everyone will get destroyed by Red Bull.”
After suffering a royal drubbing in 2022, Ferrari was seething to exact revenge in 2023. Charles Leclerc, in particular, had missed out on several race wins a year before, owing to some unlucky DNFs and strategic blunders. However, that dream of taking the fight to Verstappen remained a dream for another year.
The Prancing Horse walked away with a silver lining, though. They were the only non-Red Bull team to win a race in the season. However, to Leclerc’s disappointment, that came through his teammate Carlos Sainz.
Charles Leclerc prepares for another title showdown
Team principal Frederic Vasseur minced no words while assessing Ferrari’s failed 2023 season. The French manager highlighted the need to bring about several radical changes in Ferrari’s design strategy. As the SF24 was in the final stages of development, Vasseur revealed the team had managed to achieve that with 95% new components from the SF23.
The Maranello team unveiled its 2024 challenger on February 13, also hitting the track on the same day for the shakedown. Leclerc, who was the first to take it out for a spin, gave positive feedback.
He said, “I remember that after the first lap last year, or it was the first three [or] four laps, I wasn’t really happy with the behavior of the car. The car was very, very difficult to drive. This year, the car feels healthier and in a better place.”
The Monegasque, however, was quick to curb the expectations. He highlighted how important it was to not judge Ferrari in solitude. Leclerc pressed on the need to see how much progress other teams have made before making a comparative analysis of the “competitiveness”.
