Charles Leclerc improvements give Ferrari confidence for the future

Charles Leclerc

Leclerc improvements give Ferrari confidence for the future

The rookie is impressing at the Scuderia.

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 18 August 2019 19:00

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Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto admits the Scuderia have been “surprised” at just how quickly Charles Leclerc has improved since joining them, and reckons his performances can give the team confidence going forward.

After impressing in his debut season last year with Sauber (now Alfa Romeo), Leclerc was promoted to Ferrari at the expense of former world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who went in the other direction to return to his former team.

The Monegasque driver may not have won a race in the red of Ferrari yet, but has steadily got better with each race and was extremely unlucky to miss out on victory in Bahrain where an engine failure cost him P1 in the dying moments.

Binotto has praised the early contribution from the team’s new driver.

“We knew that Charles is a talent, we knew he was very strong because we saw him in GP3 and GP2”, the Italian told Motorsport.com.

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“Among the many aspects, the one that most surprised us is the continuous improvement that he manages to make race by race, it’s incredible how you learn from your mistakes.

“We have seen that his weekend on the track is becoming more solid and profitable, and he still has room for growth: it gives us confidence for the future “.

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Traditionally, Ferrari have opted to give their seats to more experienced drivers, but Leclerc’s recruitment was a deviation from the norm. Binotto disputes any suggestion that it was a risk taking on someone so young.

“I don’t think we should think about the past, but look to the future, without regrets. We have partnered a young driver with a more experienced one, and it has worked.”, the Ferrari boss added.

“We are also a young team, and as an approach there is the desire to meet those with less experience. But back to Charles, we knew him and we knew that … no, it wasn’t a risk. ”