2022 was possibly one of the worst Formula 1 seasons for Ferrari as they kept making strategically bad calls throughout the year. And while Carlos Sainz has proven on multiple occasions that he can make his own strategy calls, it was not the same for Charles Leclerc. The situation between Mattia Binnotto, Ferrari’s then-team principal, and Leclerc got to its worst during the 2022 British Grand Prix. And it all came down to Binotto’s lack of control over the team’s operations.

In Silverstone, Leclerc, who was initially leading the race, was badly affected by the team’s poor strategy. He was left on old tires while Carlos took a brave call to pit for fresh rubber when a late Safety Car came out. Leclerc was left dejected as his teammate scored his maiden Grand Prix win. However, according to former Ferrari boss, Peter Windsor, the new leadership of Frederic Vasseur has sorted this situation and Leclerc’s recent race in Japan was proof of Leclerc gaining back his confidence in his strategy calls.

Starting from 8th position at Suzuka, Charles Leclerc was able to reach 4th by the end of the race thanks to a much longer first stint that allowed him to gain an advantage over both McLaren, Fernando Alonso, and a struggling Lewis Hamilton. While discussing the race on the ‘Cameron F1 podcast,’ Windsor shed light on how the new management by Fred Vasseur has helped Charles Leclerc.

“I don’t think Charles is any worse or better than other drivers in terms of getting on the radio and saying why aren’t we going out or why aren’t we doing this,” Peter noted. “But, I think what we saw in the race was a classic example of Frederic Vasseur getting everything sorted and good people around Charles giving him the confidence to be able to just say, ‘Right, I’m going to go for this long stint.’ And that wouldn’t have happened under the previous managerial regime and that’s all credit to the people in Charles’ garage and to the way Charles has now freed up his ability to be assertive and that’s a very good thing.”

Despite delivering a good performance at Suzuka, Leclerc was left disappointed overall with his performance in the season so far.

Charles Leclerc left in search of happy race weekends after Suzuka

There’s little doubt in the fact that Leclerc is one of the fastest drivers on the grid over a single lap pace. However, he hasn’t been delivering the kind of qualifying performances he is known for. And he identified it as one of the key areas he needs to improve in the upcoming races.

As quoted by PitDebrief, the Monagasque attributed his qualifying struggles to his failure to get his tires into the optimal temperature range during the crucial laps. He remained optimistic that once he sorts out his qualifying issues, he will be able to fight at the top with the Red Bulls and his teammate. “Now I need to put everything together on the Saturday. And then I’m sure we’ll have many more happy weekends,“ said Leclerc. “So I’m not too concerned, but I need to do the step forward for Shanghai now.”

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However, he still believes that Ferrari has some catching up to do if they want to fight regularly for the race wins. Ferrari has planned to introduce significant upgrades to their car, with the first major upgrade coming in for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy.

Charles LeClerc Admits Being Unhappy With Teammate’s Success: “Carlos [Sainz] Won’t Be in Ferrari Next Year Doesn’t Add Any Pressure”

Will Ferrari be able to close the gap to Red Bull in time? Or are we in for another runaway championship victory for Max Verstappen?