Leclerc hails a season 'without missed opportunities' in 2024
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Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver feeling that he made the most of every opportunity that came his way during his campaign.
After years of sporadic brilliance sometimes undermined by overzealous driving, the Monegasque believes a newfound discipline allowed him to maximize every chance on the track while resisting the temptation to push beyond the limits of his car's capabilities.
Leclerc's seventh year in F1 was his most successful yet. With three victories and 13 podium finishes, he amassed a career-high 356 points, finishing third in the drivers' standings.
The Scuderia charger's remarkable consistency was evident in his 21 top-five finishes – a figure unmatched even by four-time champion Max Verstappen.
However, despite Leclerc's strong track record, Ferrari fell just short of its goals, finishing second in F1's Constructors' Championship, 14 points behind their resurgent rival McLaren.
Reflecting on the season, Leclerc expressed satisfaction with his performance and highlighted a key difference in his approach compared to previous years.
"Looking back at the season, I think the season has been very solid from the whole team," Leclerc said in Abu Dhabi recently, quoted by Motorsport Week.
"I think there's the performance of the car, which we weren't at the level where we wanted to be, especially for the first half of the season.
"The second half, we were more in line with McLaren and Red Bull."
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Ferrari's mid-season slump proved costly in its battle with McLaren, but Leclerc's driving remained a bright spot throughout the year.
Known in previous seasons for pushing too hard to compensate for an underperforming car, he showed greater restraint in 2024.
"As a driver, I feel like looking back at this year, there hasn't been really any missed opportunities," he added.
"Which in the other years, when I look back, there was always one or two races where there was an excess of… I wanted to do things that were not possible.
"And by that, it was biting me. That would mean that I would get zero points in the weekend where I should have 10 or eight points.
"Even if that's not much, at the end, when you add these things up, it makes a difference.
"In a year like this, I don't think I've left any opportunities behind. That is why I'm satisfied with the season."
Leclerc's more calculated approach didn't mean sacrificing the excitement of wheel-to-wheel combat. In fact, he thrived in close battles, particularly in the latter half of the season when stakes were higher.
His hard-fought duels with Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri, particularly during the Qatar Grand Prix, drew widespread praise for their intensity and fairness.
"I always enjoy wheel-to-wheel [racing]. I think it's always a very exciting moment of the weekend where you've got to adapt to different drivers," Leclerc explained.
The battles in Qatar were especially significant, given Ferrari's tight fight with McLaren in the Constructors' standings.
"For example, with Oscar [Piastri] last week [in Qatar], obviously there was a bit more risk taken. Just because I know that it was very important for us to be taking as many points as possible from them [McLaren]," he said.
Leclerc acknowledged that his calculated aggression was informed by the circumstances of the season.
"When a lot is at stake, it's where you can take also more risk. And that's where I enjoy the most," he said.
"At the beginning of the year, maybe you have a bit less. But at the end of the year, when you're fighting with one clear target, you can afford to be a bit more on the aggressive side, which I enjoy."
By tempering his ambitions with realism and focusing on extracting the maximum from every race, Leclerc delivered one of the most consistent campaigns of his career.
As Ferrari looks to build on its progress for 2025, Leclerc's disciplined approach and racecraft will undoubtedly remain at the heart of the Italian outfit's hopes for future success.
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