"Five-second penalty was the right thing"- Charles Leclerc owns up 'mistake' at 2022 F1 Japanese GP

Charles Leclerc confessed that his five-second penalty at Suzuka was justified. The Ferrari driver made a last-lap mistake by cutting the final chicane and re-entering the track in an unsafe manner ahead of Sergio Perez. The penalty pushed him down from P2 to P3, ultimately resulting in Max Verstappen winning the World Drivers' Championship.

Leclerc told the media in a post-race interview that he made a genuine mistake under pressure from Sergio Perez. He said:

"Well, I don't have much to say. I did a mistake and tried to minimize it by trying to go straight. I was not aware this was the last lap but the five-second penalty was the right thing to do be honest."

Leclerc further revealed that the car was struggling the whole race as he tried to manage his tires:

"We were very fast for four or five laps, but unfortunately, the race was a bit longer than that. The fronts were just gone after four or five laps, and after that was all about trying to survive until the end of the race. The end was extremely difficult. Obviously, Checo put in quite a bit of pressure behind and I was really, really struggling with with both of my front tires."

Charles Leclerc now stands third in the championship table with Perez ahead of him by one point. The Monégasque still has a chance to finish second in the remaining four races.

---

Charles Leclerc highlights Ferrari positives throughout the season

Charles Leclerc pointed out his team's major performance improvements this year despite Ferrari losing out on the championships. The F1-75 is an engineering marvel that has definitely competed for the top spots.

Further, Leclerc complimented "The Prancing Horse" for bouncing back after two struggling years:

"Everyone is used to it now, because we are almost at the end of the season. But if you look back at 2020 and 2021, those have been two years where we had a very difficult time in terms of performance. That said, we have to take an extra step to really fight for the world title."

Charles Leclerc started the season with outstanding wins in Bahrain and Australia. If not for blunderous strategies and consistency problems, the Monégasque was a genuine championship contender this year. Leclerc managed nine poles during the qualifying sessions and gave decent competition to the Red Bulls throughout the year.

However, Charles Leclerc was ultimately let down by his very own team. Several fans wish for Ferrari to remain competitive and win the world title with Leclerc at some point.