Ferrari 2022 car feels "very different" as Charles Leclerc reveals simulator test

Charles Leclerc at the French Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

Ferrari

Ferrari 2022 car feels "very different" as Leclerc reveals simulator test

Leclerc is the first driver to reveal details of how the car may handle

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Thursday 1 July 2021 15:00

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Charles Leclerc has revealed Ferrari has started simulator testing of its 2022 challenger and insisted the car feels "very different" to the current crop of machinery.

F1 is radically changing the aerodynamic make-up of the sport, with new-look cars set to adorn the grid as the sport seeks more exciting racing with turbulent air greatly reduced by the aero reforms.

One of the talking points of the year so far has been the balancing act of upgrading this season's cars whilst not taking vital resources away from those that will compete for years to come, with teams taking various routes up and down the grid.

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Leclerc, who has confirmed he has tested a simulator version of Ferrari's future competitor, said: "It is still very, very early days.

"It feels very different. Then, I think it is a question mark for everyone whether it is developing well or not.

"It is such a different project, it is still very early days so nobody knows where we are positioning ourselves compared to the others but we are working on it."

Leclerc explains limited driver input into development

With the drivers having no experience of this concept of car to rely on, input from either Leclerc or team-mate Carlos Sainz has been limited.

Asked what the drivers could help with, Leclerc explained: "It is difficult because for now, it is only numbers and predictions.

"We can definitely give our feedback, especially in the simulator. We have a very good simulator at Ferrari and we can try different things in that simulator and there, the driver input is very, very important.

"On other things, for now, it is very early days for us to actually say something.

"The only thing we can do is to try and work in the best way possible with Carlos to try and explain what the weaknesses are of this year's car and try to understand why we have those weaknesses and try not to reproduce those mistakes for next year's car even though the projects are completely different.

"So I would say on the simulator, we have got quite a big input and we can help a lot and also with this year's feedback to try and help the team to work in the right direction and tell them exactly what we need to go quickly."