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Charles Leclerc rued his car's tire degradation after finishing the 2022 F1 Imola GP Sprint in P2 behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The Ferrari driver led for the majority of the 21-lap race around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari before being overtaken by Verstappen on the penultimate lap. The Monegasque driver was unable to mount a challenge on the last lap and had to settle for second place behind the Dutchman instead.
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Speaking in his post-race interview in parc fermé, Charles Leclerc tried to see the positives but rued his luck as well. He said:
“It’s still a front row start. We struggled with the tyres at the end, so we need to analyse that for tomorrow. The main race is tomorrow. We need to make sure that we’re ready. The pace was good until then, we started to have some draining on the front left and lost it towards the end. That’s life, we’ll go to work and come back stronger tomorrow.”
The Monegasque also had words of endearment for the effervescent Tifosi, supporting Ferrari in full fervor. He went on to add, saying:
“I mean, it’s incredible. Every time we are in Italy, we have so much support and it’s amazing to see so many people in the grand stands.”
The result meant the Ferrari driver was able to add to his tally and still remains the runaway leader of the championship with 78 points, His nearest challenger now is teammate Carlos Sainz in P2 with 38 points.
"I understood the car very early in the season" - Charles Leclerc after superb start to 2022 F1 season with Ferrari
Charles Leclerc has credited his early understanding of the new Ferrari F1-75 as the reason behind his early successes in the 2022 season. The Monegasque driver has taken the championship by storm with three podium finishes in the first three races, including two wins.
When asked to share the secrets behind his stellar performances so far in the calendar year, the 24-year-old said:
“It is a very strong car for sure. I think until now it’s fitting my driving well. I understood the car very early in the season and I think that is helping me for now. This has been a good surprise. But yeah, we need to keep pushing obviously. For now, it’s going extremely well.”
The Monegasque has also admitted that a championship could be possible for the Scuderia in 2022.
With defending champion Max Verstappen still reeling after two DNFs in the opening three races, Leclerc's chances of winning Ferrari's first championship since 2008 look good for now. Only time will tell if they can sustain their challenge through to the end.
