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Charles Leclerc says he is happy to wait until the 2021 season to obtain his first Formula 1 title, but hopes that the upcoming year will bring him success.
The Monegasque driver is entering his second year with Ferrari in 2020, after an impressive maiden season at the Maranello squad saw him finish ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel in the championship.
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Leclerc walked away from 2019 with the most pole positions of any driver throughout the year, and picked up two race victories.
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However, it was ultimately a disappointing year for Ferrari, who was unable to mount a title challenge on rivals Mercedes.
Speaking about his expectations for 2020, Leclerc said, as quoted by Crash.net: “I hope in 2020 I can win the title, but I am happy to wait until 2021 if I have the title for sure.
“It is going to be very difficult and I think 2020 will be a very important year when teams are going to invest a lot because the budget cap is coming in from 2021.
“I will try to be as ready as possible for 2021 as I think it will be a big year and hopefully we will be working properly as a team to build a right car to be able to win the championship.
"The goal is always to target the highest possible so in case I fail to get there I only go a little bit below.
“Basically, it is to be world champion which is very, very optimistic but I will always target very high.
“This is it and I will try to give everything to try to win. In the end I am driving, for me, the best team and I just want to give them what they deserve so it is up to me to do the job on the track."
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (3)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Maybe he'll have to wait, maybe he doesn't. I think RBH are more likely to challenge Merc' than Ferrari this year, but it all depends on how well Ferrari develop their car, really. Or how much Merc' manage to bum things up, which I find very unlikely.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
He's as good a chance as Verstappen or Vettel at stopping Hamilton and fair play to him, mark of a winner, goes in expecting to be challenging and should be pissed if he's not. Like it.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Sounds like he's just trying to be politically correct. What driver would really ever say that they don't want a title the upcoming season. News story that's not really news.