Leclerc focused on qualifying in 2019 and is now targeting race improvements

F1 News

14 January 2020 at 11:26

Charles Leclerc had a relatively successful first season at Ferrari but the Monegasque is still targeting more improvements particularly when it comes to race day.

Leclerc's first season with the Scuderia brought mixed fortunes as he showed some impressive flashes but was hampered by mistakes and team orders. However, following the summer break, he kicked on winning two races, including the first win at Monza for Ferrari since 2010.

His qualifying form was particularly impressive as he topped the qualifying charts but Leclerc is now targeting improvements on race day.

"After the first three four races, I've seen that my weakness was more the qualifying than the race," Leclerc said in a podcast on Motorsport.com.

"So I focused quite a lot on the qualifying and did quite a big step from France onwards in qualifying, which was good to see.

"And then in the race I think I've still got quite a bit of work to do. Seb has a big experience in the race and he's stronger than me at the moment. So my work this winter is mostly on the race, to try and improve that."

Leclerc also wants to cut down on mistakes in 2020, not just him but the entire team, adding: "I hope, or at least I'm working extremely hard, to do less mistakes than I've done in 2019.

"I think as a team, we also need to focus on that."