The Abu Dhabi momentum that can propel Leclerc and Ferrari to F1 2023 success

OPINION: Charles Leclerc achieved his target of sealing runner-up in the 2022 world championship with a masterful drive behind Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi. And that race contained key elements that may help him, and Ferrari, go one better in Formula 1 2023

“Where is P2?”

It was about the only thing that Charles Leclerc got wrong last Sunday in Abu Dhabi – missing where to park next to Max Verstappen in the smoky pitstraight parc ferme after their celebratory burnouts. Having headed briefly towards the third-place finisher’s spot, he squeezed his Ferrari F1-75 around the Red Bull and ended up where he should have been.

The same goes for the final result of Formula 1 2022.

In beating Sergio Perez to second in the season finale with a flawless drive in circumstances that his Ferrari team have historically struggled with, Leclerc also sealed the world championship runner-up spot behind Verstappen. That was his target throughout the season run-in, as was working with Ferrari to start addressing the issues that blighted the middle part of their campaign and ultimately lost them the championship.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.