Charles Leclerc has vowed he is “ready” to contend for the championship in Formula 1 should Ferrari assemble a package that makes that a realistic proposition in 2025.
Leclerc produced his most productive campaign to date in 2024 as three wins – eclipsing his 2019 tally – and 13 podiums amounted to a career-best 356 points total.
However, Leclerc still ended up 84 points behind Max Verstappen in third, while Ferrari missed out on the Constructors’ title to McLaren in the final round in Abu Dhabi.
But while Ferrari’s protracted championship drought has extended, the Italian marque’s strong end to the previous season has heightened expectations going into 2025.
The anticipation surrounding the team’s prospects has increased with Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, the seven-time champion starting his latest venture earlier this week.
Leclerc, though, is optimistic that he can overcome his newest internal threat to take his maiden crown, providing Ferrari delivers him the car to mount a sustained challenge.
“I feel like I’m ready for the championship,” Leclerc told RacingNews365.
“We [Ferrari] just need a car that, throughout the season, is capable of doing that.
“I’m fully confident that the next team to be able to do that and to beat Red Bull, especially, for the championship will be us.”
Leclerc has matured as a driver
Leclerc’s eventual third place in the standings was his second time in the top three, having been runner-up to Verstappen in the debut season under the current rules.
But despite not matching that last term, the Monegasque looked back on the previous campaign in a more positive light compared to the one where he placed second in 2022.
That season saw Leclerc hold a 46-point lead over Verstappen three rounds in, but he ended 146 points behind the Dutchman as Ferrari’s championship assault imploded.
Leclerc explained that learning to avoid the temptation to overdrive when Ferrari’s competitiveness isn’t at the level he desires has helped him to minimise his own errors.
“I did [improve],” Leclerc said, contrasting his driving in 2024 versus previous seasons.
“I improved in the way that I accept more when a weekend is not going exactly the way I want.
“Whereas in the past, if things were not going exactly the way I want, if the car was not exactly the way I wanted, I was trying to find something within the car that was not there, and that was pushing me to do mistakes.
“That was pushing me also sometimes to do something really good when things were not there, but I felt like it was biting [me] more than it will reward me – and on that, I improved a lot.
“I felt like I maximised points a lot more over the course of the season, but that doesn’t mean that I will never cross that line again.
“It’s always a game of trying to get as close as possible to limit without ever stepping on it, but I feel like I’ve done a step forward on that, yes.”
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