“You have been chosen as the driver of the day. The whole race was well managed“, crackled Charles Leclerc's radio at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix. On the other side, speaking, Xavi Marcos, track engineer from Monegasque who was trying to cheer up the driver who knew he had ruined the weekend with a qualifying performance below his extraordinary possibilities.
“Thanks, but screw it, I came fourth. I thought we could do something better at some point. That's life“. This is the reply from Charles who knows that the title of driver of the day it is a very ephemeral emblem, which gives no points and does not restore the mood. An immaterial trophy made for the fans and which serves to exalt them. Certainly not those who compete for much more concrete things.
Beyond the honor remains the performance. And yes, we can talk about that. Charles recovered four positions finishing at the foot of the podium. He didn't do it thanks to tightrope overtaking or braking at the limits of physics. He achieved it with a masterpiece of tactical management and tire management.
What it takes to succeed in today's Formula 1 where drivers spend more time supervising the systems of a complex single-seater than attacking the asphalt.
Charles Leclerc: perfect management
Certain results do not depend only on pure speed, but also on strategic mastery combined with impeccable management. A mixture of skill and intelligence which yesterday was sublimated in the exceptional ability to manage the tyres. The first stint of the race, the one on medium C2 tires was the key to the comeback.
While his colleagues took turns in the pits he went straight, solid and fast, extending a sector of the race with a pounding and constant pace. Charles walked that delicate balance between speed and conservation. A calculated approach, which favored fluidity and precision over raw aggression.
This driving style, which usually doesn't suit Leclerc, not only preserved the tyres, but also mitigated the risk of activating the thermal degradation that is always around the corner in Suzuka.
Charles studied it. The methodical approach to tire management is the result of a meticulous analysis of track conditions carried out by its engineers. From these reflections, and thanks to an adaptive Ferrari SF-24, a grand prix was born that wants and must be the basis for a restart in a season in which it is clear that the driver's full potential has not yet unfolded.
The Ferrari driver, rather than aggressively attacking in a systematic manner (even if he didn't save himself as demonstrated by the small smudge that preceded the only pit stop of the race), concentrated on maintaining a constant pace while minimizing the unnecessary stress on the Pirelli compounds .
From this was born that first, interminable, stint which allowed him to move up the rankings and partially make up for a strangely soft Saturday for someone who has shown admirable things in his career on a single lap.
Leclerc: the reason that contains the impetus
Without wanting to inconvenience comparisons that are too broad and therefore irreverent, Charles recalled someone who speaks the same language as him: Alain Prost. The Professor, a nickname given to him precisely because of his enormous sensitivity in managing tires and race strategies.
You will say that part of the credit also goes to a sweet Ferrari with covers. True, very true. But you need to know how to exploit certain characteristics and you need to know how to do it especially if you are aggressive by nature.
Charles kept the ravenous monster that animates every pilot at bay and allowed rationality to win. The order and rigor that chain the wildest and most uncontrollable sphere. Apollo limiting Dionysius. Maybe a little too philosophical in concept. But it serves to give shape to the idea.
How many times have we read that one of the aspects in which Charles must complete himself (everyone is perfectible, even a driver who is universally recognized as one of the most talented of this sporting era) is the management of the race as a whole? Not an accusation, but an attempt to describe the characteristics of a driver who is constantly evolving and studying to become the strongest of the lot.
The Japanese Grand Prix explained that Charles, when needed, also knows how to be reason and not pure instinct. Pragmatism and not abstraction. What is currently needed to prevail in a competition in which cannibals, old glories who do not want to abdicate, very young talents ready to fight and team colleagues moved by the spirit of revenge for a dismissal that is still considered unmotivated are agitated.
Suzuka is the starting point. May the Japanese Grand Prix be the break in his world championship. The systemic bifurcation through which new paths are taken that solidify the character and temper the technical baggage which is immeasurable. But it must be chained within the cold confines of discipline.
Current Formula 1 imposes strict management rules. Observance is needed and Charles, yesterday, demonstrated that he can apply a protocol that enhances performance. Fix this modus operandi by returning, however, to excelling also on the single lap exercise.
Charles is working to understand how to get the tires into the right window to allow his aggressive nature to resurface push lap. When this journey, which is not complex, is completed, we will have that "full" driver that Ferrari needs to get back to the top of the world.
A shared process because the Red team is not yet completely ready and is completing a growth path with discipline, like its standard bearer.
Leclerc and Ferrari go hand in hand and together they intend to sit on the seat of the dominators. Suzuka said that we are on the right path. Perhaps tortuous, certainly uncomfortable, but it leads to where you intend to go.
Photo credits: Scuderia Ferrari, Formulacritica