Imola GP: Charles Leclerc upbeat despite lacklustre start to F1 season, says 'I want to win in Red'

Imola Grand Prix: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is having a season to forget in 2023. The young Monegasque currently stands P7 in the drivers’ championship with just 34 points to him name so far. The relentless, strong-headed driver has been prey to constant reliability issues and unprecedented crashes. The Maranello team had looked even worse than the last season in terms of sheer pace. In 2022, the duo of Leclerc and Sainz were able to keep Red Bull at bay, at least on the good days. Follow Formula 1 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.

However, currently as it stands, Ferrari has further slipped down to the 4th spot in the constructors’ standings, as opposed to 2nd last year. Amidst these volatile scenarios, speculations are always around the corner regarding the future of Leclerc with the team. After 4 outrageously disappointing results this season out of the 5 entered races, Leclerc stands with a mammoth deficit of 86 points to championship leader Max Verstappen.

We’ve got so much work to do in terms of race pace. We’ll keep pushing as always.
Next stop is in Imola ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u4Q4HP1dpa
— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) May 7, 2023

Recently, the Ferrari driver opened up about his aspirations and future with the team. And unlike what many are advocating for, Charles has fairly dismissed any speculations regarding his exit or replacement from Scuderia. Many even touted for him to be the next occupant of the Mercedes seat post Lewis Hamilton. However, Leclerc uni vocally denied all rumors in this domain.

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Charles Leclerc dreams a title win in Red

Leclerc holds the record for the longest Ferrari contract in the history of Formula 1. The fact that he signed it at a tender age is proof enough of his once in a generation talent. Sebastian Vettel famously regarded him as the most talented driver he has seen in 15 years of being on the grid. However, due to strategy issues and mistakes of his own on certain occasions, his talent seems to be going into vain.

All said and done, Charles is still positive about his return to the top. In a recent interview, he talked about the progress Ferrari is making in the manner of a truly loyal soldier.

“I want to win, and I want it to be in red. This is clear, and I am not happy about the performance we’ve been giving in the last few years, it’s not been so consistent. There was quite a lot of expectation for this year, and at the end, we are seeing that we’re not as competitive as what we want,” said Leclerc as reported by

“But looking back at it, trying to analyse it with [new Team Principal Frederic Vasseur], with the team, we understood a few things. I have a bit more of a clearer picture of why we are where we are now,” added the Ferrari man.