Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was delighted and more than a little relieved to secure the runners-up spot in the 2022 drivers championship by three points as a result of finishing in second place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Leclerc took an early lead in the championship at the start of the season but was eventually overwhelmed by Max Verstappen, who sealed the driver's title after the Japanese GP.
Leclerc had gone into the final weekend of the season tied on points with Sergio Perez for second, meaning he had to finish ahead of the Red Bull driver if he wanted to take the coveted 'vice-champion' title.
Leclerc started from third place behind Perez, but moved up to second when the Mexican made an early pit stop. With Perez now committed to a one-stop strategy, Leclerc had to make a single stop work.
It proved a tense climax to the year with Perez hunting Leclerc down in the final minutes, but the Mexican ultimately ran out of time before the chequered flag came out.
“I was 110 per cent from the first lap to the last lap. Honestly, we had the perfect race for us, there was not much more today," said Leclerc, after the top three celebrated by performing donuts on the start/finish straight.
Talking with the media in parc ferme following the end of the race, he said he was “really, really happy” to have made the strategy pay off.
“I knew that the only possibility for us to beat Checo was with a different strategy and playing with tyre management, which we did really well today. We managed to make the one stop work, so really happy.”
But already, his thoughts had turned to what Ferrari can do in 2023.
“I really hope next year we can do a step forward in order to fight for the championship,” he commented. “But considering where we were last year it’s a really big step forward.
"We improved towards the end of the season, in terms of strategy which turned into work in terms of race pace," he noted.
"Coming into the Sunday we seemed to struggle a bit more, but we will push during the winter break in order to catch them back a little bit.”
Leclerc's team mate Carlos Sainz gave chance to Perez in the final laps but ended up missing out on the podium in fourth place.
But with Lewis Hamilton retiring in the closing laps with a hydraulic problem, the Spaniard still managed to clinch fifth place in the drivers standings.
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