Leclerc frustrated by “Charles 2.0” suggestions over 2022 F1 form

The Monegasque insists that he hasn’t made a big step since last season, but has carried on with an established linear progression and simply taken advantage of having a truly competitive car for the first time since 2019.

Leclerc won the opening race of this season in Bahrain and lost out to Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the Saudi Arabian GP. He leads the world championship heading into the third race in Australia, and topped today's second free practice session.

“One thing that I don't like, I've seen it everywhere, and I don't like to see it, is ‘Charles 2.0’,” he said on Friday in Melbourne.

“This is not the case. Yeah, I've had a growth from year-to-year that is linear.

“I never like to put luck into place. But honestly last year there was two races in particular where I've lost many points, many valuable points that weren't too much in my control.

“And this [cost me] massively at the end of the year. And also fighting in between seventh and fourth position, whenever you are doing very good performance, nobody's noticing it, which makes it quite tricky.

“Then, of course I probably am even better now that I'm fighting for wins, because this is what I like to do. It's great to be back here.

“But overall, I think it's just a linear growth from year-to-year, and there's not a huge step from from last year.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Leclerc insisted that he’s thriving on the pressure of taking the fight to world champion Verstappen.

“It's a good situation to be in, I think,” he said.

“To have more pressure means you're doing something right, and that you are in the right place.

“I never particularly struggled with pressure, I have a mindset that is just focusing on myself, on the job I have to do in the car, and not thinking too much about results and all that is around.

“Obviously seeing the last few years that have been very difficult, and now to be back at the top, gives a lot of motivation to the whole team, to me and yeah, it's good to be here.”

Leclerc has outpaced Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr thus far this year, but he says he can still extract more from the F1-75.

“It's still very clear to me where I need to work on this car to get better and better,” he said.

“Obviously, we are still early days, and I'm pretty sure that all the drivers here have still a bit of margin. How much everyone has of margin, it's difficult to know.

“I don't really know where I'm gaining [on Sainz], I guess it's a little bit everywhere. But we will wait and see.

“I mean, Carlos is a very strong driver, and it’s just a matter of time before he gets at ease with this car, I think.”