The elements of Leclerc’s Austria win that bode well for his F1 future

Charles Leclerc’s victory in last weekend’s 2022 Austrian Grand Prix was Ferrari’s first at what is now the Red Bull Ring since 2003 – when Michael Schumacher was victorious at the then A1-Ring.

Most of that long drought is down to the track’s absence from the Formula 1 calendar until its 2014 return. But before this year, Mercedes and Red Bull shared the spoils. Leclerc got close in 2019, but Max Verstappen’s brutal and canny racing stopped him taking a maiden win that day.

Last Sunday had excellent echoes of both 2003 and 2019, which bode well for Leclerc’s future F1 career – however his first title challenge ultimately pans out.

Back in 2003, Schumacher’s fiery first stop put him back in the pack and on a charge. While the challenge was not quite as tough as the one Schumacher faced on his way to finishing second while stuck in fifth gear for Benetton at Barcelona in 1994 (and he was helped by Juan Pablo Montoya having an engine drama), such a triumph in the face of adversity helps form the legend of many F1 greats.

There’s Jim Clark’s 1965 British GP triumph after his misfiring engine lost oil pressure. Jackie Stewart’s 1971 Monaco win without rear brakes. Ayrton Senna won in front of his adoring home crowd at Interlagos in 1991 despite gearbox problems that contributed to his severe in-car cramp and muscle spasms. Less well remembered perhaps is Senna’s 1989 Monaco GP victory after losing second and third gears.

For those efforts, we can read Leclerc and his sticking throttle pedal of Austria 2022.

PLUS: How Leclerc beat Verstappen in Red Bull’s backyard after F1 sprint defeat

The problem struck first just after the virtual safety car period needed to cover the latest Ferrari fire in Austria, which eliminated Carlos Sainz and engulfed his rolling car horribly quickly.

Leclerc's throttle problems in Austria meant the Monegasque had to adjust his driving style in the closing stages

Photo by: Alessio Morgese

Leclerc was having to cope with his throttle inconsistently staying open somewhere between 20-30% whenever it did as he stepped off the gas. Ferrari suspects a mechanical fault developed in the pedal linkage, which he adapted to by lifting and coasting into each braking zone to try and mitigate the problem.

Leclerc had quickly recognised that every time the throttle stuck, he was left carrying too much mid-corner speed, which robbed him of traction exiting several of the key points around the Red Bull Ring. But it was particularly Turn 3 he felt was “very tricky” – where the tight right-hander’s apex is sloped and is important to nail to avoid shedding time on the long, downhill run to Turn 4.

With Verstappen charging behind, Leclerc’s pace did not drop down to the 1m09s until the final lap and included his personal best 1m07.583s, despite the throttle issue being so severe – and with the added stress Sainz’s problem might appear on the other F1-75 no doubt in mind – team boss Mattia Binotto “stopped watching”.

The winning margin was 1.5s, with Leclerc holding on over a fraught final 10 laps. But it was his pace in the contest before then that meant he had enough margin to hold off Verstappen even with a hobbled car. This was once their VSC stops had brought them back onto the same tyre life age.

Of course none of the impressive historical comparisons really precisely mirrors what Leclerc did last weekend. But they contribute to a ‘great’s’ story and maybe that is what F1 is witnessing in 2022. Because Leclerc is pulling off one of those ‘great’ campaigns

Leclerc credited his pace to his overnight work on improving his speed through and critically out of “Turn 1 and 3 and 10 [the final corner]”, where he felt he’d been losing out in the sprint race Verstappen won. Then there was Ferrari’s superior tyre wear levels on another of Red Bull’s not-uncommon days getting that critical area wrong.

PLUS: Why Ferrari can take it to the wire in Austria despite Verstappen’s sprint dominance

Turn 3 comes up regularly when considering how to win in Austria, which Leclerc also did in his 2016-2017 rookie GP3 and Formula 2 title years. It’s also where Verstappen’s firm but brilliant passing taught Leclerc to what level he’d need to go racing-wise to win in F1 back in 2019. That learned edge was on display in his famous Monza win against Lewis Hamilton four races later.

For the fifth time in 2022, Leclerc and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel. After two lock-ups that perhaps betrayed a hint at Leclerc’s hurry to finally end his luckless streak, he pulled off a thrilling dive on his rival at Turn 4. Verstappen dismissed suggestions his lack of his typical feisty defence was down to his tyre wear concerns compared to the Ferrari at that stage – insisting it was “good racing”.

Thanks to Ferrari’s resolute and better two-stop strategy thereafter, Leclerc would pass Verstappen twice more – both moves much more routine with the tyre life offset he then commanded.

In winning with a hobbled car Leclerc has emulated several F1 greats, such as Senna at Interlagos in 1991

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The end result trimmed the Dutchman’s points lead to 38, but it struck a serious psychological blow at a track where he led all 142 laps in two races last year. Yet, Ferrari’s ongoing reliability issues tempered expectations on Leclerc’s title chances all things considered.

Leclerc should really be 13 points closer when just thinking back to Silverstone alone and Ferrari’s botched safety car strategy call there. Under the VSC in Austria, it also fleetingly fumbled over calling Leclerc’s stop, initially telling him the VSC pitstop window was closed but that it knew Verstappen would stop anyway – messages he queried with a touch of bewilderment.

Back in Britain, Leclerc produced the finest overtake of the year so far with his Copse re-pass on Hamilton despite his big tyre life disadvantage. If he’d been on the same tyres he might’ve won from the front – taking a damaged front wing from essentially start to finish and being rapid nevertheless.

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There’s more memories of F1 greats that come to mind here.

Alain Prost “being bundled off at La Source on the first lap” of the 1986 Belgian GP – per Autosport magazine’s report at the time – bent his engine mountings, despite which he drove on to finish sixth. “What John Barnard considers the best drive he has ever seen,” continues our report. More recently, Hamilton winning in Mexico three years ago came after he sustained lap one floor damage.

These examples are all different and impressive in their own right and of course none really precisely mirrors what Leclerc did last weekend. But they contribute to a ‘great’s’ story and maybe that is what F1 is witnessing in 2022. Because Leclerc is pulling off one of those ‘great’ campaigns.

And we’re not alone in thinking so. Autosport readers currently put Leclerc’s average performance at 8.7/10 from the 11 races held so far. That’s 0.5 ahead of Verstappen and 0.2 in front of where the combined averages from myself and Matt Kew have Leclerc, which have him joint top with the world champion on 8.5.

F1 2022 is now at its halfway point. If Leclerc’s second half matches his first, even if – as seems very likely right now – Verstappen takes the title and the Ferrari driver is a valiant second, its greatness will surely be indisputable. A legend to look back on.

Leclerc's win was the latest excellent drive in a strong first half of the 2022 season as he strives to challenge Verstappen for the title

Photo by: Ferrari