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

OPINION: After a near-perfect opening trio of races to kick off 2022, Charles Leclerc revisited an old weakness at Imola when he got overconfident with the Variante Alta kerb and hit the barrier. From that error, Leclerc must learn to rein in his more overzealous moments if he is to fight for this year's Formula 1 title

Updated Apr 26, 2022, 1:05 PM

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.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.