FEW OFFTRACK FIREWORKS

Prema’s esteem for Leclerc radiated through the team last season. It had a family-like atmosphere – taking the highs and lows together, while having as much fun as possible. Of course it’s easy to be happy when things are going well, but there were tough times too. As well as the disqualifications – Leclerc also lost a dominant feature-race win in Belgium due to excessive plank wear – he collided with team-mate Antonio Fuoco at the Red Bull Ring. It was clearly a racing incident, and there was little animosity between them then, or throughout the season, with Fuoco usually joining Leclerc for a game of tennis or football. Leclerc also proved he was willing to play the team game at the season finale, when he almost stopped on the run to the finish in the Abu Dhabi feature race to hand Fuoco the final spot on the podium at Prema’s behest. Intra-team politics and dynamics are on another level in F1, but Leclerc sees no reason why he won’t get on with new team-mate Marcus Ericsson. “[During] the FP1S last year I got to know him and he’s a really cool guy,” Leclerc says. “To be honest, I’ve never had any problems with my teammates and I’m always pretty chilled – and he looks the same. So, I don’t think there will be any problems.”