{"id":569084,"date":"2019-04-26T09:23:19","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T08:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/opinion\/mph-leclerc-on-crunch-time-for-f1-and-ferrari"},"modified":"2019-12-05T02:19:46","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T02:19:46","slug":"mph-leclerc-crunch-time-f1-and-ferrari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/mph-leclerc-crunch-time-f1-and-ferrari\/","title":{"rendered":"MPH: Leclerc on crunch time for F1 and Ferrari"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can Charles Leclerc unlock the Ferrari SF90’s potential at the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix? He certainly has a good track record at Baku…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Image: Motorsport Images\/Zak Mauger<\/em><\/p>\n

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is obviously a bit of a crunch weekend not only for Ferrari but also the Formula 1 championship contest itself. As we discussed here last week<\/a>, the Ferrari has suffered an underlying problem in all three races to date, even the one that Charles Leclerc<\/a> dominated up until his late electronic problem.<\/p>\n

Azerbaijan sees the first of what is to be a two-part upgrade but that is more than just an attempt at getting things back on course for the team before it\u2019s too late. It\u2019s also crucial in maintaining the momentum of the most exciting newcomer in F1 since Max Verstappen. We caught up with Leclerc on the eve of the weekend, got his thoughts on how it is operating within the massive stage of Ferrari in just his second season, the stresses of his rivalry with team-mate Sebastian Vettel and a few bits more. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I\u2019m enjoying it,\u201d he says with the wry but sparkly smile. \u201cIt is a dream come true and I\u2019m still living it like the first day.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does it differ from driving for Alfa Romeo? \u201cThere are a lot more people involved, a lot more resource. Things are done a lot quicker here. You ask something for the car and you get it a lot quicker. This makes a difference. It takes a bit of time speaking and working with so many people. Because when, say, you are doing a debrief there are a lot of people back home, hearing you and trying to talk to you and trying to develop the car. It\u2019s just a matter of getting used to it and understanding who is doing what, because there are so many. And the questions are more detailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just from inside the car. Obviously, it\u2019s brought a whole new level of fame out of it. \u201cIt changes quite a bit. Especially after the first podium. F1 is a strange sport, where the people don\u2019t see your face until you have a bit of success by going on a podium and they put a face to my name. But I\u2019m staying a lot at home in Monaco and in the simulator there.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I have to do on track is prove what I\u2019m capable of and then hopefully the situation will change at one point<\/p>\n

One senses it\u2019s going to be a long time, if ever, that enjoying the fame gets in the way of the focus. His focus at the moment is to be better. \u201cWith the little experience I have, I understand where I should put my focus. The team is helping me with this because they are aware I\u2019m not so experienced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe talent is one thing. To be fast in F1 you must have talent, obviously. But after that it\u2019s the work you are doing. The experience won\u2019t make the talent more but can help the outside parameters which can help you go quicker on the track. There are some very powerful tools and these are things I\u2019m getting better at using, things like diff settings for example. Just small things but they are powerful because they can make the vital difference. If you\u2019re arriving at Ferrari fighting the best drivers there are, every little thing can make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

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