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As the curtain closes on the 2023 F1 season in Abu Dhabi, Charles Leclerc is already looking forward to the upcoming season with excitement.
Leclerc's tumultuous year has ended with a fifth-place finish in the drivers' standings. While the first half of his season was lackluster, the Monegasque driver found his form in the latter half.
With three podium finishes in the last four races, the 26-year-old has ended his season on an encouraging note.
As he heads into 2024, Charles Leclerc is brimming with confidence. In his interview with Sky Sports F1, the Ferrari driver revealed how he normally deals with "quiet time" at the end of a season. However, that is not the case this time. He said:
"I wish there were more races. I can’t wait to hop back on the car and see where we are next year."
Leclerc added:
"What motivates me is that the year went in the positive way. The upgrades went in the right way."
Charles Leclerc finishes P2 at season finale in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari lose out to Mercedes
With a P2 finish in the Abu Dhabi GP, the Ferrari driver ended his season on a high note. Following the race, Leclerc expressed his joy about the team's impressive performance at the Yas Marina Circuit. He said (via RacingNews365):
"On one hand, I'm really happy because at a weekend like this, honestly, there wasn’t one thing we could have done better as a team. I think it was definitely not a given that we were in the second-fastest car this weekend."
Despite Charles Leclerc's runner-up finish, Ferrari couldn't topple Mercedes in the constructors' championship standings, closing out the season at the third position. Reacting to the closely contested battle between the two teams, Leclerc said:
"It’s just a shame that we finished third in the Constructors', that’s all that matters to me at the end of the season and we didn't achieve that."
The 26-year-old expressed his gratitude towards his crew upon the closure of an exhausting season. Leclerc said:
"I would like to thank the team for doing such incredible work and for working so incredibly hard since the first race. We knew that it was going to be an uphill season because we lacked performance compared to where we wanted. But the team has done an incredible job pushing until the last race."
