Ferrari star Charles Leclerc outlines one of the main problems from 2022 season 

Charles Leclerc has said that the problem of tyre degradation during races cost Ferrari a lot of victories and was one of their biggest issues last season.

Ferrari and Leclerc came up second best against Red Bull and Max Verstappen in 2022 despite an intense title fight before the summer break. Despite starting many of the races from the front, the Monegasque driver could not convert them to victories owing to their significant tyre degradation compared to Red Bull.

Leclerc said on the Beyond The Grid podcast:

"I think the tyre deg in a way at the end of the year was more of a thing because the car was not as quick as the Red Bull one. When you need to push more at the beginning of the race to try and stay with them, you are, of course, destroying the tyres more, and then you see a higher deg. But I felt like at the beginning of the year, we were more competitive."

He continued:

"So we could take a bit more margin at the beginning of the race, bring the tyres in nicely, and that plays a huge part in tyre degradation. So what we saw at the end of the year, I don't think, is a particular problem with tyre degradation, even though I think there is a lot of work that we still need to do to improve. But I felt like it was also part of the lack of performance that we had at the end of the year."

Leclerc (308) finished well behind Verstappen (454) last season in the drivers' standings.

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"After every season I feel like we do a step" - Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc finished with a career-best P2 in the championship last season, finishing behind Verstappen. He said that every year he gains more experience and makes a step up as a driver.

He said:

"Yes, I strongly believe (about gaining experience and stepping up). And is the same, thinking behind. After every season, I feel like we do a step, with these two parts that I was speaking about early on after the last race. We try and see and understand where we did things wrong. And then just before this new season, we take actions to improve those things. So, yes, of that. So, I'm also sure."

Charles Leclerc will look to mount a sterner challenge against Verstappen in 2023 as he eyes his maiden world championship.