Leclerc 'very proud' of Ferrari execution in 2024
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Charles Leclerc has highlighted Ferrari's exceptional execution as the defining feature of their 2024 Formula 1 campaign.
Despite the Scuderia losing out to McLaren in F1's Constructors' Championship by just 14 points, Leclerc expressed pride in his team's resilience and progress during a campaign that delivered five race wins to the House of Maranello.
After a challenging start to its season, Ferrari made significant strides in car performance during the second half of the year, closing the gap to the front-runners and positioning the Italian outfit as McLaren's challenger for the title.
"I'm very happy because I think the first part of the season wasn't easy," the 27-year-old reflected. "We were definitely not the fastest car. We were actually struggling for performance.
"The second part of the season, we've done an incredible job, mostly for improving the car in terms of pace. We've picked up a lot of pace. We were a lot closer to the guys in front, and actually on some races we were probably the fastest car.
"This is thanks to the team in Maranello, thanks to Carlos [Sainz], thanks to me and the team back at the track as well to have done such a great job with the new upgrades."
However, Leclerc emphasized the importance of strong race execution throughout the season.
"I think the highlight of this season has definitely been the execution. Because to be fighting for the Constructors' at the end of the year until the very last race, if you look at the performance we've had in the first part of the year, that's where I think we've done a particularly good job.
"So on that, I'm very proud."
Ferrari in a good place now
Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari's progress in 2024 does not guarantee success in 2025. While the team has shown growth over the past four years, he stressed the importance of addressing past mistakes to start the next season on a strong footing.
"I think we've had two seasons where we're basically fighting for the championship," Leclerc explained. "Obviously, one was not for long enough, which was in 2022. And I think with that, we've grown a lot.
"I've grown a lot as a driver and I think we've grown a lot also as a team, because when it's been such a long time, obviously, the people in the team, most of them have changed, and so for many people, it was also the first time fighting again with Ferrari at the top.
"So I think it's an important process. But yeah, I think in the last four years, we've taken steps by going in the right direction. With Carlos, we've pushed the team into a very good direction, and I think we are in a very good place now."
Momentum and Lessons Learned
Leclerc also warned against relying on momentum alone, citing past experiences where Ferrari's strong finishes to one season did not translate into early success the following year.
"Obviously, we just came short of the ultimate goal this year. But I kind of agree with Lando [Norris] that momentum is not really a thing.
©Ferrari
"There's been quite a lot of examples on our side where we finished a year strong and then the beginning of the year after we've been struggling, so we really need to stay on it.
"We've had quite a few examples, and we managed to pinpoint what went wrong in that winter break, that we didn't do quite right, and that we paid the price at the beginning of the season after.
"This is probably the experience that is the most helpful in order to start next year in the best possible way."
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