Formula 1

Leclerc vows to ‘choose fights better’ in 2021

by Jack Benyon
4 min read

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Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc says he will “choose my fights a little bit better” in 2021 after a number of high-profile mistakes the year prior.

Leclerc was one of the standout performers on the F1 grid in 2020 despite the lacklustre Ferrari SF1000, picking up two opportunistic podiums the car didn’t merit and scoring nearly three times the points of his then-team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

However, he had the potential to put up even more points on the board and was left to rue a big crash at Monza and a number of collisions with other drivers, in several of which he was clearly the guilty party.

Motor Racing Formula One World Championship Italian Grand Prix Race Day Monza, Italy

Ahead of the season opener in Bahrain, Leclerc was asked about his aggressiveness in 2020 and the example of his grid penalty-inducing Sakhir Grand Prix collision with Sergio Perez – to which he offered a sarcastic “thanks for reminding me of that beautiful moment last year”.

“It was definitely a difficult moment for the team and I was extremely motivated to do something special,” Leclerc went on to explain.

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“And that motivation sometimes translated into crashes on the track, which was not great. But as I’ve done in the past with my mistakes I always try to understand why I’ve done them and not do them again.

“So I will still be as motivated to try and do great results and we’ll have to see where we are exactly, to adapt my aggressivity on track – but of course I will try not to reproduce these types of mistakes.”

Asked by The Race whether Ferrari’s relatively low expectations for the 2021 car meant he would likely have to compensate for its shortcomings by being extra aggressive again, Leclerc said: “Let’s wait and see where we are again because I think there are positive signs already from the test.

“But yeah, I’ll probably choose my fights a little bit better.

Motor Racing Formula One Testing Day Three Sakhir, Bahrain

“Last year, if you take here [in the Sakhir GP] by example I was fighting with a Red Bull, which wouldn’t have been possible to keep behind for the rest of the race – so that was a bit silly to have a crash at that point of the race for this type of positions that we wouldn’t have been able to keep anyway.

“But on many other occasions it helped us to achieve better results, so I will choose my fights better but if I have to be aggressive at one point to get better results, I will do it.”

Leclerc’s 2020 misadventures

Styrian GP – There had already been radio angst at Ferrari over a close call between Sebastian Vettel and Leclerc on lap one of the Austrian GP, but things got much worse at the follow-up race.

Though Leclerc wasn’t necessarily trying to pass Vettel, it was the sister Ferrari that was in the wrong place at the wrong time as Leclerc braked ultra-late into the hairpin at the top of the hill in an effort to quickly progress from a penalised 14th place on the grid.

Italian GP – Leclerc had the chance to spring a much-needed surprise result on Ferrari’s home ground after the timing of the first safety car elevated him from an early 13th place to sixth, but then crashed heavily by himself at the Parabolica as he tried to hustle an ill-handling car.

Russian GP – No negative consequences for Leclerc himself from this one, as he wasn’t penalised for the tap that sent Lance Stroll into the wall and went on to finish an excellent sixth. He wasn’t hugely popular with Stroll or Racing Point that day, though.

Turkish GP – A glorious drive from 17th on lap one through to third in Turkey’s mixed conditions ended with another episode of ‘Leclerc angrily berates himself’ as his last-corner attempt to take second from Sergio Perez led to him locking up and running so wide he fell to fourth behind Vettel.

Sakhir GP – Leclerc putting the underpowered Ferrari fourth on the Sakhir GP grid was one of the finest qualifying laps of the season. It was followed by one of the shortest races, as a lunge on the opening lap resulted in race-ending contact with Perez. Max Verstappen crashed in avoidance too. But Perez not only escaped damage but went on to charge from last place to a remarkable first F1 victory.

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