If Ferrari had matched it, Charles Leclerc could have become world champion, believes chief engineer Jock Clear: the Monegasque driver has everything it takes
“He has everything he needs to become world champion,” says Ferrari’s chief engineer Jock Clear about his protégé Charles Leclerc. And the Brit knows what he’s talking about: after all, he was Jacques Villeneuve’s race engineer when Villeneuve won the title in 1997, and later worked with Villeneuve’s then-rival Michael Schumacher at Mercedes.
And yet in the F1 Nation podcast, he says: “I really think he’s the best qualifier we’ve seen.” While it’s difficult to go back to the times of Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen, he’s “definitely” the best qualifier since then.
The numbers somewhat prove Clear right: Although he rarely had the very best material in the field, the man from Monaco has already managed 26 pole positions. If you compare that to his meager seven race wins, it’s clear where the 26-year-old’s specialty lies.
But Clear also knows that the relatively small number of victories he has achieved from pole positions has led many people to say that he is not nearly as good in the race as he is in qualifying, but the engineer finds that “not really fair,” as he says. “It’s just that he’s very, very good at qualifying.”
Sunday weakness is not only due to the driver
And: Of course, the Sunday weakness is not always due to the driver. In the recent past, Ferrari has often had a car that did not handle the tires as well in the race trim, so Leclerc often had no chance of keeping his first place.
“You realize there are no points on Saturday,” says Clear. ‘So it’s true that we’ve shifted our focus more towards making the car better in the race.’
There is nothing wrong with Leclerc’s race management itself: ‘You saw in Monza that it’s extraordinary when everything comes together. Then he can deliver too,’ says Clear, referring to the Italian race in September.
There, Leclerc had overtaken the two McLarens in the race and, with one less pit stop, kept the tires alive and won the race. But Leclerc also won the race in Austria in 2022, while Max Verstappen had major problems with tire degradation.
“It’s not that Charles wasn’t good to the tires. It was simply a combination that we didn’t focus well enough on the tires.” But Ferrari has now done that and Leclerc has improved his skills at the same time – and that can now be seen on the track.
Leclerc could have become world champion in 2022
If it had been based on performance alone, Leclerc could have been world champion, says Clear. In 2022, Ferrari had a strong start to the season and had already built up a good lead, but the reds had nothing to counter the development of Red Bull in the second half of the season.
“Looking back, would you say there was a chance for Ferrari to win a world championship in 2022? You’d have to say yes, because at one point we had a 40-point lead and were in a position to beat Max on many tracks,“ Clear said.
”But we weren’t ready as a team,” he admitted.
“And you don’t win championships if you’re not at the top of your game,” he continues. “It’s unfair to say that Mercedes only won all those titles because they had the best car. They had the best of everything. And it’s been the same with Max for the past three years: he’s been very good and Red Bull have been very good.”
“And if Charles performs at that level, then we have to perform at that level with him,“ he clarifies. And he is convinced: if Ferrari is at that level, then Leclerc will be too.
”When we are in a position where we can consistently deliver a car that can compete for the championship, when we are close to doing so, then Charles will deliver.”
