Leclerc: Highlight of this season has been execution

Ferrari took the fight to McLaren for the 2024 F1 constructors' crown till the final race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but ultimately failed to beat them.

In terms of performance, the Ferrari SF-24 was not as fast as the MCL38 consistently, as an upgrade for the Spanish Grand Prix left the Maranello squad scratching their heads after their car started bouncing, an issue they couldn't resolve until the Italian Grand Prix, which Leclerc won at Monza.

However, Leclerc was satisfied that Ferrari turned their season around and were contenders for poles and wins in the second half.

He said: "I'm very happy because I think the first part of the season wasn't easy. We were definitely not the fastest car. We were actually struggling for performance.

"The second part of the season, we've done an incredible job, mostly for improving the car in terms of pace. We've picked up a lot of pace. We were a lot closer to the guys in front, and actually on some races we were probably the fastest car.

"This is thanks to the team in Maranello, thanks to Carlos [Sainz], thanks to me and the team back at the track as well to have done such a great job with the new upgrades.

"But I think the highlight of this season has definitely been the execution," he pointed out. "Because to be fighting for the constructors’ at the end of the year until the very last race, if you look at the performance we've had in the first part of the year, that's where I think we've done a particularly good job. So on that, I'm very proud."

Leclerc warned that the momentum Ferrari enjoyed at the end of the 2024 F1 season was not enough to ensure a strong start in 2025. especially as they had started 2022 in great form but faded away as that season progressed.

He added: "I think we've had two seasons where we're basically fighting for the championship. Obviously, one was not for long enough, which was in 2022. And I think with that, we've grown a lot.

"I’ve grown a lot as a driver and I think we've grown a lot also as a team, because when it's been such a long time, obviously, the people in the team, most of them have changed, and so for many people, it was also the first time fighting again with Ferrari at the top.

"So I think it's an important process. But yeah, I think in the last four years, we've taken steps by going in the right direction. With Carlos, we've pushed the team into a very good direction, and I think we are in a very good place now.

"Obviously, we just came short of the ultimate goal this year," the 27-year-old lamented. "But I kind of agree with Lando [Norris] that momentum is not really a thing.

"There's been quite a lot of examples on our side where we finished a year strong and then the beginning of the year after we've been struggling, so we really need to stay on it.

"We've had quite a few examples, and we managed to pinpoint what went wrong in that winter break, that we didn't do quite right, and that we paid the price at the beginning of the season after.

"This is probably the experience that is the most helpful in order to start next year in the best possible way," Leclerc concluded.

Leclerc will have a new teammate in 2025, Lewis Hamilton, who will join from Mercedes as Carlos Sainz moves to Williams.