Things haven’t been entirely plain sailing for Leclerc since the 2020 season. As rapid as he is, he finds himself behind team-mate Carlos Sainz in the points.
From time to time, Ferrari has technically and operationally fallen behind the other leading teams, but there have been a few mistakes from the cockpit too. Super-quick, exciting, perhaps enigmatic. Not for the first time in history does this apply to a native French speaker not from France representing the Prancing Horse!
Alex Kalinauckas, who got to know Leclerc in his days on the F2 beat in 2017, uses the help of the Monegasque himself to investigate how things are going and the hopes that an upward Ferrari trajectory can be the prelude to a genuine challenge to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. He also sits down with Leclerc for him to describe some of his best races for Ferrari (including as a junior).
Elsewhere in this latest issue, Stefan Mackley finds that DS Penske’s two Formula E champions Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne are regaining optimism after a disappointing 2023 season, and Joey Barnes chats to IndyCar breakthrough star Kyle Kirkwood – the only driver to win races for Andretti Autosport this year in a line-up that also included Colton Herta and Romain Grosjean…
Joey was also at Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans IMSA finale. While the Meyer Shank Racing Acura team won the 1000-mile race, there was a thrilling four-way GTP title battle that went the way of Alexander Sims, Pipo Derani and the Action Express Racing Cadillac team.
At Road Atlanta, a certain Jenson Button made his race debut in a Hypercar, and his plans in this arena for 2024 are one of the stories in this week’s Pit & Paddock.
We also bring you all the latest in the national motorsport scene, including a wallow in Formula Ford Festival nostalgia as everyone looks forward to the latest instalment of the Brands Hatch classic this weekend.
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