Charles Leclerc banishes nightmare season in Abu Dhabi as clever gamble offers Ferrari hope

The Ferrari driver beat out Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to claim second in the F1 Drivers’ Championship

Second placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari looks on in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit (Getty Images)

In a Formula 1 season fraught with frustration and several moments of pure agony, Charles Leclerc finally banished some demons. A sublime race, in terms of strategy and execution, saw the Monegasque seize P2 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and with it the consolation of runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship behind two-time world champion Max Verstappen.

While not perfect, the 25-year-old has been routinely tormented this season by Ferrari’s strategic blunders and reliability issues. To the amusement of some or the misery of many Scuderia supporters, Leclerc has been as animated as ever on the radio throughout races.

An unforgettable, yet therapeutic scream after spinning out in the French Grand Prix was not an isolated incident either. His expletive rant during a home race in Monaco following a bungled first pitstop perfectly described his frustration as Ferrari routinely failed to fulfil their potential. The misery extended to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, too, when his engine gave out while in prime position to win.

In the blink of an eye, Leclerc’s initial 47-point lead over Verstappen after three races had vanished, trailing the Dutchman by 34 points following Baku.

Leclerc and the Scuderia will therefore carry the scars from 2022 forward, but as the sun dipped over Yas Marina Circuit, the Monegasque was emboldened after teasing Sergio Perez into a second pitstop and holding onto second behind a dominant Verstappen, who claimed his 15th win of the 22-race season.

A beneficiary from the bitter dispute between the Mexican and Verstappen in Brazil last week, finishing ahead of Red Bull’s No 2 would secure the consolation of P2 in the Drivers’ Championship. Although his task was made more difficult after landing in P3 and behind Checo following qualification.

And with an army of Mexican supporters, taking a detour before continuing their onward journey to Doha to support El Tri at the Qatar World Cup, Perez’s start forced Ferrari to be brave. “Box, opposite Red bull,” came the call, essentially, whatever Perez does, do the opposite. And with Perez pitting for a second time, Leclerc was pushed into a gutsy, yet clever move to pull off a one-stop drive over the 58 laps.

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit (AFP via Getty Images)

With Perez languishing some 20 seconds behind Ferrari, Leclerc expertly defended his lead over 24 laps, until a relentless Perez, aided by DRS, stormed past Lewis Hamilton with 13 laps remaining. Eventually falling an agonising 1.3 seconds short, Leclerc and Ferrari had their scalp. A victory predicated on what has often defined their vulnerability over the course of 2022.

"I can say it now but we dummied him and made him think we were going to pit," a gleeful Leclerc explained. "He took it and went for the second stop, so we did everything perfectly and I am very proud of our execution.

"It’s been a very difficult season for the whole team. We started extremely well then we’ve had loads of problems with the reliability, strategy and tyre management obviously later on in the season.

"That wasn’t easy to manage knowing that the potential was in the car to do very well, and so to finish on a high at least is good.

Race winner Max Verstappen, second placed Charles Leclerc, Olaf Janssen and Third placed Sergio Pere (Getty Images)

"Now we need to focus on finding a next step for the race pace because Red Bull seem to have something that we don’t have for now. But this is encouraging.”

If Leclerc “still lacks something”, it might now be harder to decipher exactly what, following the thinly-veiled mid-season criticism of former Ferrari boss Jean Todt Charles Leclerc.

The gravity of Ferrari also heaps more pressure on Leclerc and Carlos Sainz than other drivers. Speculation has followed the Italian giants this week and it is not likely to disappear anytime soon without races to capture focus. Rumours have suggested team principal Mattia Binotto could be a potential casualty from the aforementioned saga that threatened to drive their precocious young driver insane, with Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur a possible replacement. But rather than dismiss its influence, Leclerc revelled in the team’s ability to thrive amid gossip.

"Obviously, there was outside pressure with all the rumours going around coming into the weekend,” he said. “There was pressure to keep second place in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, and we managed to perform at our best in a situation like this, which makes me very proud of the team."

Charles Leclerc performs a celebratory donut in parc ferme at Yas Marina Circuit (Getty Images)

So as F1 hibernates for winter, Leclerc and Ferrari will be buoyed by the season finale, although Sainz’s admission that their car was “more circuit dependent [than Red Bull]” underlines the need to discover new speed gains. But if they can align minds and outfox Red Bull more often, title contention may return in 2023.