Charles Leclerc commits to 'aggressive' racing to get Ferrari back on track

Charles Leclerc in actie tijdens de wintertestdagen 2021 — Photo: © LAT Images

Ferrari

Leclerc commits to 'aggressive' racing to get Ferrari back on track

Ferrari driver determined to push hard and eliminate crashes in 2021 campaign

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Friday 26 March 2021 08:00

Charles Leclerc has vowed he will "be aggressive" when it is needed on track this season as he bids to get Ferrari back to the front after a disastrous and "difficult" season in 2020.

The Italian outfit endured a turgid campaign last year, falling to sixth in the constructors' championship in its worst season for 40 years, with Leclerc's performances often saving Ferrari from further embarrassment.

The Monégasque, however, was involved in multiple incidents that took him out of contention for good points-scoring positions and has promised to learn from his previous errors.

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"It was a difficult moment for the team last year and I was truly motivated to do something special," said Leclerc. "That motivation sometimes translated into crashes on the track which was not great.

"As I have done in the past, I always try to understand why I have done my mistakes and try to not do them again.

"I will still be motivated to try to do great results and we will have to see where we are exactly to adapt my versatility on track. But I will try to not reproduce these types of mistakes."

The last time F1 visited the Bahrain International Circuit just three months ago, Leclerc's race was ended at turn four after making contact with Sergio Perez's Racing Point.

Whilst the pecking order of the field has yet to be revealed after three days of testing at the same venue, Leclerc was quick to state that he will not shy away from further aggression should he be in a position to capitalise.

"I will probably choose my fights a little bit better," he added. "Last year, I was fighting with a Red Bull that it would not have been possible to keep behind for the rest of the race.

"It was a bit silly to have a crash at that point of the race for those types of positions that I wouldn't have been able to keep anyway. But on other occasions, it helped us to achieve good results.

"Let's wait and see where we are because I think there are some positive signs already from the test and then we will see for sure from Saturday onwards.

"I will choose my fights better but if I have to be aggressive to get better results, I will do it."