Leclerc "hurt" by loss to Ferrari team-mate Sainz

Charles Leclerc has conceded to suffering "hurt" at being beaten by a team-mate in the drivers' standings for the first time in his F1 career last season.

Leclerc finished seventh, 5.5pts behind Ferrari partner Carlos Sainz following a fine debut campaign from the Spaniard with the Scuderia that included four podiums.

While Leclerc had praise for Sainz through his first season in red, the 24-year-old could not hide his feelings in failing to finish as the top Ferrari driver of the season.

"Of course, it hurts. It hurts for every driver," explained Leclerc. "As soon as you finish behind your team-mate, whether it is in the championship or in one race, it always hurts. You always want to beat your team-mate.

"At the same time, whether I am satisfied with last year's season, yes I am. There are some opportunities that I lost, sometimes by not being lucky, some others because of myself just wanting too much and I am learning from it.

"One of the big strengths of Carlos is just being there all the time and every race he is always there.

"Myself, sometimes I can be a bit too optimistic and this happened last year a few times and it cost me some points.

"So in the end, I paid the price, I learned the lesson and it hurts but I move forward. It is the past.

"As I said, it hurt at the moment but when I look back across the season, I am satisfied with myself."

With Ferrari discussing the state of play between the drivers for the upcoming season, Leclerc is ready to fight for the championship with the ultimate goal of bringing the title back to Maranello.

"Of course, we have discussed it," added Leclerc. "We are free to fight.

"Obviously, without taking any stupid risks because we are fighting for the time and the ultimate goal is to bring Ferrari to the top but we will be free to fight."

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