Charles Leclerc says his first year with Ferrari was “better than expected” but has vowed to be stronger in 2020.
Ferrari protégé Leclerc graduated to a race seat at the marque after just a solitary season in Formula 1 with Sauber, and took pole on only his second outing in Bahrain.
Leclerc went on to score a further six poles, giving him a grid-best seven overall, and took back-to-back victories in Belgium and Italy, ending Ferrari’s nine-year drought on home soil.
Leclerc classified fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, on 264 points, 24 points in front of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
“At the beginning of the season if you had told me I would have had seven poles and 10 podiums, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Leclerc.
“It’s definitely better than what I expected, but looking back there were quite a lot of mistakes, so the target is to understand them.
“But I am satisfied about this first season and it has not been an easy season.
“In the first part we were struggling but I think we have worked well and improved in the second half of the season.
“I had two incredible wins and Monza was all of my dreams – to be on top of that podium with hundreds and thousands of Ferrari fans below, these experiences I will never forget them.”
Leclerc reckons that the year-on-year stability, and greater assurance of his own position, will assist his progress moving forward.
“This year was my first year in a top team and I have done a few mistakes, which cost quite a bit of points at the end of the season,” he commented.
“Normally I analyse all the mistakes I make so as not to repeat them twice and that’s the exact same as I will do now so that I can come back next year even stronger, more ready and to do less mistakes.
“So I think it will only get better from my side, for sure.”
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