Charles Leclerc feels Ferrari's hard work over the last two years has paid off with victory at the 2022 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc feels that his victory in the 2022 F1 season opener in Bahrain “paid off” all the hard work that Ferrari had put in over the last two years.

The Monegasque’s win ended Maranello’s two-year-long victory drought after Sebastian Vettel last triumphed for the team at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. Speaking during a post-race media session, Leclerc said:

“It feels amazing obviously after yesterday I felt great but yeah, we had to finish the business today and we did a one-two so it’s the perfect start to the season and I’m incredibly happy after the last two years that have been very difficult for the team for myself for a while obviously for Carlos also last year, we had to work extremely hard. And, and we did work hard and well and, and yeah and to finally prove that all the work that we’ve done in the past two years is paying off is feels amazing.”

Ferrari endured two difficult seasons after their all-conquering power unit was neutralized following a technical directive by the FIA in late 2019. The Scuderia was suddenly left with a draggy car married to an underpowered power unit and could barely manage P6 in the constructors in 2020.

While their 2021 campaign was much better, courtesy of an extensively reworked car and the consistency of its new young driver line-up. The Italian team managed to narrowly beat their old rival McLaren to P3 in the constructors.

Heading into 2022, with all-new regulations, the team was dead set on returning to the front of the grid. Team principal Mattia Binotto felt Ferrari had no reason to be in F1 if not to challenge for championships.

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Ferrari’s resurgence could boost F1 ticket sales: Domenicali

Fans were overjoyed when Ferrari delivered on their pre-season promise and triumphantly returned to the top step of the podium in Bahrain. F1’s boss Stefano Domenicali believes the Scuderia’s resurgence could be hugely beneficial to the sport in financial terms.

Domenicali believes Ferrari’s competitiveness would pique fan interest and expects ticket sales for the Grands Prix to go up. Speaking to Reuters during a post-race media session in Bahrain, he said:

“To see Ferrari back again competitive is very good for everyone. I’m sure that this will have an impact on the numbers of ticket sales that the promoter will sell. I’m expecting in Imola a big crowd as in the old days.”

The Italian marquee has one of the most passionate fan bases on the grid, making it an extremely important team for F1.

Domenicali, who himself led the Scuderia for more than half a decade in the early 2010s, says the team’s huge fan base could flock to races, especially on the European leg of the calendar.