Why Leclerc must learn to settle for results in his bid to win an F1 title

Charles Leclerc was too determined in his chase of Sergio Perez as he tried to turn a definite third place into a possible second at Imola. In pursuit of the Red Bull driver, he nibbled too much inside kerb at the Variante Alta chicane. That spat his Ferrari off, the car escaping from underneath him to spin into the tyre wall. Fortunately, the impact was side on, and he sustained front wing damage rather than terminally buckled suspension.

It was a minor error of judgement, but an error nonetheless - something that comes with the territory of a driver racing with the bit between their teeth and ultimately pushing too hard. It was both an easy mistake to make and yet still an inexcusable one.

Being accident prone every now and again appears to be Leclerc’s lingering final weakness. It was a flaw many thought had been eradicated given how coolly he came out on top in the DRS battle with Max Verstappen in Bahrain, and for the way in which he dominated events in Australia to grab pole, victory, lead from start to finish and bag fastest lap.

PLUS: The Verstappen path Leclerc seems to be following in F1 2022

Blunders of the nature Leclerc made last weekend were more reminiscent of his early years at Ferrari - think missing out on a likely pole when he binned it in Baku qualifying in 2019 or losing the rear at Monza in 2020. Then securing pole on his home turf in Monaco before promptly stuffing it into the barrier in 2021.

It seemed the red-hot form he was displaying at the start of Formula 1’s second ground-effect era meant such incidences were largely banished. Events on lap 53 of 63 in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend proved otherwise.

Leclerc was pursuing Perez's second place when he got too greedy over the kerbs and spun into the barrier

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Opting to drive at nine-tenths rather than 100% - with no margin for error - can be the way forward. Title rival and race winner Max Verstappen appeared to embrace that notion around the 2018 campaign, his fourth in F1. Leclerc is now four rounds into his fifth term racing in the top-flight but isn’t quite there yet.

Part of the continued learning process comes with the increased stakes in 2022. Leclerc is now battling at the sharp end of a title fight - something he hadn’t yet experienced in F1. Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have been through that and resultingly, proved content in the past two seasons to settle for the bottom step of the podium or squeaking into the top five rather than put it all on the line for a gold or silver medal.

Leclerc’s ability to learn from last weekend and not make the same error again should be aided by the nature of his blunder. Having identified where he could steal a march on Perez to tuck into the Mexican’s slipstream and gain DRS, he was deliberately attacking the chicane most of all. It was the Ferrari driver being overzealous rather than cracking as Verstappen disappeared into the distance to land a maximum 34 points during a sprint weekend.

"I’ve always been strong of knowing exactly which particular feeling I felt at that moment of the race, and I know how to correct it. So again, a mistake but I’ll learn from it and won’t do it again" Charles Leclerc

Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc said he “never particularly struggles with pressure”. He was quick to reinforce that after he crossed the line for sixth place at Imola in front of the somewhat disappointed tifosi.

“I tried to push a bit more, and it was too much,” he explained. “But apart from that, I don’t think I’ve taken any unnecessary risk… No, there wasn’t [pressure]. I mean, that’s what I think at least.

“Obviously we’ve had pressure not only today but for the whole weekend and I don’t think I’ve done many mistakes before today. It was the mistake that cost me a lot and I’ll learn from it. But no, on my side, there was no particular added pressure whatsoever.”

Leclerc is correct in that his error denied him a podium, but it could have cost a lot more. It therefore might be considered a cheap way to enhance his learning. For one, it has happened at a relatively early stage in this record-breaking 23-race season. Two, although his championship lead has been cut, he’s still ahead of second-placed Verstappen by 27 points - more than a race win and fastest lap.

Leclerc was firm in stressing that the pressure of the expectant tifosi had no part to play in his mistake

Photo by: Erik Junius

He continued: “It’s one of those mistakes where it is a bit more the mental approach that you’ve had at that particular moment of the race. But I’ve always been strong of knowing exactly which particular feeling I felt at that moment of the race, and I know how to correct it. So again, a mistake but I’ll learn from it and won’t do it again.”

When Ferrari rolled the dice to pit Leclerc for a set of soft tyres to lead into his crash, it was to try and improve on an almost certain third. Leclerc did not throw away a likely last-minute win but instead - having recovered past Kevin Magnussen, Sebastian Vettel and Yuki Tsunoda - shed a more palatable three positions.

In other words, if Leclerc does not repeat a similar mistake for the rest of this oh-so-promising campaign for him and Ferrari, it will have been worth the comparatively acceptable seven-point drop he sustained on the day.

Leclerc recovered positions late on by passing Magnussen, Vettel and Tsunoda to take sixth

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images