Drivers and teams do not have to wait too long now, as, in a just few weeks’ time, testing will officially get underway in Bahrain. The 2021 F1 campaign has quite a few crunch storylines in the offing, but none more so than Charles Leclerc and Ferrari.

By now, it is a known fact that the Scuderia obviously did not enjoy a very successful campaign in 2020. Often pipped by their midfield rivals, both Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel had to extract performance from the car, and even that was not enough.

But speaking in yesterday’s team launch, Leclerc opened up about an important lesson he learned from their horror campaign. He has also emphasized on how they will look to pull together, using that learning, in the 2021 season.

You always learn in the most difficult moments, said a retrospective Charles Leclerc

Leclerc elaborated, “One thing is patience, as before that I was very impatient and I wanted everything straightaway. But with a season like last year where we stepped back a little bit from 2019.

“We knew that we had stepped down, and we knew how much work will be required to get back this type of performance. But we all got to work, we all stayed united with the same objectives.”

Indeed, Leclerc was one of the bright spots for Ferrari last season with his two podiums. But naturally, for a team of the Prancing Horse’s expectations, placing sixth in the standings was never going to be enough.

“And I learnt a lot, I think you always learn in the most difficult moments. And that’s what happened for me,” concluded Leclerc.

Leclerc and Sainz will have a new power unit at their disposal in 2021

With the aero tweaks coming into play, and Ferrari developing a whole new engine, there are positive signs emerging from Maranello. Naturally, the team will work in the background in 2021 to construct some updates, should they be needed.

Both Leclerc and Sainz have some expertise navigating relatively slower and trickier cars during their days with other teams. But then again, their abilities will also have to be supplemented with faster equipment to gain the desired results.

So, all in all, the team will remain tight-lipped until they witness some progress on the track during testing. But inwardly, Ferrari would desperately hope for a much better and more successful campaign than their last.

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