‘That really hurt him’ – Jock Clear on the Carlos Sainz performance that shocked Charles Leclerc

“That was a race that Charles would have gone there as a favourite to win. He often goes there with a lot of confidence, and for Carlos to nick that one under his nose really hurt. I think that sort of thing has made him focus on: ‘okay, I really need to get the job done on Sunday.’

“That’s not to say he never thought that, but it does mean you change your focus slightly, if you take it away from, ‘okay, we just need to get the best qualifying car we can and get a qualifying lap, and then it’ll all happen on a Sunday.’

F1 NATION: Why Leclerc is champion material and how F1 rookies are shining – with Ferrari’s Jock Clear

“I think you’re just seeing a better representation of Charles and of us as a race driver, as a race car, as a race team.”

As Clear referenced, Leclerc has often held a reputation for being particularly strong in qualifying but the Briton believes that he has improved in terms of his race management during the 2024 season.

“People tended to say to me two or three years ago, ‘yeah but he’s nowhere near as good in the race as he is in qualifying’,” Clear – who is also Head of the Ferrari Driver Academy – explained. “That’s not really fair. It’s just that he’s very, very good at qualifying.