Strategic disasters: we need to improve racing next year, says Leclerc. But Ferrari is still improving, he says

Although it initially looked like a battle for the title, Ferrari came back to reality after a few races and especially after the halfway point of the season. And it was mainly communication and strategic errors by the Italian stable that not only decided the Constructors’ Cup title, but also the Drivers’ Championship. But Charles Leclerc sees the light at the end of the tunnel…

The Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna, Monaco, France, Hungary and Great Britain. That’s a list of probably the most mismanaged Ferrari races this season. And that’s whether it’s driver mistakes or, above all, mistakes in strategy and communication or in reliability itself.

The Italian stable from Maranello has, quite objectively, simply not done well this season at all, except for some race results, of course. It should be noted that after the Australian Grand Prix Leclerc led the drivers’ championship with 71 points, having a 46-point lead over second-placed Max Verstappen.

But then the reigning double world champion won three races in a row, Ferrari started piling on the mistakes and now Verstappen’s title is up for grabs with a current 124-point lead over Leclerc.

Furthermore, the poor results and the mood in the Ferrari fan community hasn’t exactly been helped by Mattia Binotto’s comments. But now the Italians are realising that there really must be changes and in some respects rapid improvement next year.

And not just next season. Leclerc is currently fighting for second place in the drivers’ championship, and Ferrari also intends to maintain second place in the Constructors’ Cup.

After the US Grand Prix, Leclerc himself admitted that it was Sundays that spoiled this season and his team’s battle for the title in both championships. And he also stated that there are plenty of areas where Ferrari really needs to improve.

And it’s true. It’s been true this season that Ferrari has been very strong indeed in Saturday qualifying. But then there have been many Sundays, or races, where the strategic plans of the Leclerc group have fallen apart like a house of cards.

Leclerc’s statement

“I think in terms of communication, strategy, etc., there have been a few races now where we have tried to work on that. And I can already see positive signs for improvement,” Leclerc said after the US Grand Prix, quoted by Racing News 365.

“And then in terms of tyre preparation, we have to identify all the reasons why what happened in some races happened. But these are things that we are continuously working on and improving on,” he added.

F1, Racing News 365