Interview
Leclerc working to become ‘more consistent’ as he targets the title in 2022
Arthur Leclerc is spending his off-season competing in the Formula Regional Asian Championship, which he leads after two rounds, and he believes that his spell in the series will help him to become more consistent in Formula 3.
The Ferrari junior won twice and took three podiums in total during his rookie F3 season, but struggled for consistency, missing out on the points 10 times. And although he ended the season with seven consecutive top 10 finishes, Leclerc says he’s still got more work to do.
“The area to improve on will be my consistency because that is key for the Championship,” said Leclerc. “It’s good to take pole positions and to win races, but the consistency is what pays off at the end of the season. I think that’s what I lacked last year and where I need to improve.
“That is why I am doing the Formula Regional Asian Championship, so that I can work with the team and my engineer and focus on my struggles from last year and improve for 2022.
“There were a lot of good aspects: the podiums, the wins, and the pole position were all quite good and I think that we had some speed last year, but there are some things that we still need to work on.”
Sticking with PREMA Racing for 2022, Leclerc will be extending his partnership with the Italian team into a third season, having initially driven for them in the 2020 Formula Regional European Championship, where he finished as runner-up.
The 21-year-old will be joined at the three-time Drivers’ title-winners by fellow second-year Jak Crawford and rookie Oliver Bearman. All three are currently competing in Formula Regional Asia and Leclerc says he’s excited to team up with them at PREMA in F3.
“I am excited to fight with them next year,” he continued. “I think that the grid, in general, will be of a very high level. The drivers are not coming from nowhere, so it should be an exciting season and I am looking forward to it.
“I am really happy to be continuing with PREMA. Firstly, because we had a really good season last year, and also because I feel really good within the team. Although we did a good job last year, we still have a lot to work on, but we know where to improve. The team are really supportive, and it feels good to be spending another year with them.”