Despite taking nine pole positions, Charles Leclerc won only three races in 2022 as his title challenge seemed over before it had barely begun. Here’s Lelcerc’s 2022 F1 season in statistics.
RACE STATISTICS
| Championship Position: | 2nd |
| Total Points: | 308 |
| % of teams’ points scored: | 56% |
| Points Scoring Grands Prix: | 19 |
| Best finish: | 1st (Bahrain, Australia, Austria) |
| Number of starts: | 22 |
| Number of non-finishes: | 3 |
| Number of finishes: | 19 |
| Laps Led: | 311 |
| Laps Complete: | 1189 |
| % of Laps Complete: | 91.89% |
| Distance Covered: | 5941km |
| Laps Raced in the Top 10: | 1125 |
| Laps Raced in the Top 5: | 944 |
| Laps Raced in the Top 3: | 775 |
| Races gained positions in: | 7 |
| Races lost positions in: | 9 |
| Finished where started: | 3 |
QUALIFYING STATISTICS
| Q3 Appearances: | 21 |
| Q2 Exits: | 1 |
| Q1 Exits: | 0 |
| Best Qualifying Position: | 1st (x9) |
| Worst Qualifying Position: | 15th (Canada) |
| Average Qualifying Position: | 2.82 |
| Average Grid Position: | 3.91 |
| Beat team-mate in how many qualifying sectors: | 38 |
| Beaten by team-mate in how many qualifying sectors: | 27 |
| Average gap to team-mate per sector in qualifying: | -0.040s |
Note: for qualifying sector battles, outlier results from wet qualifying sessions have been removed for a more fair comparison. Leclerc and Sainz set identical sector times in Sector 2 in qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix.
CHARLES LECLERC 2022 F1 SEASON SUMMARY
| Qualifying battle | Quali | Sprint | Grid | Race | Pos change | |
| BAHRAIN | WON | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SAUDI ARABIA | WON | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| AUSTRALIA | WON | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| EMILIA ROMAGNA | WON | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 |
| MIAMI | WON | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| SPAIN | WON | 1 | – | 1 | DNF | – |
| MONACO | WON | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| AZERBAIJAN | WON | 1 | – | 1 | DNF | – |
| CANADA | LOST | 15 | – | 19 | 5 | 14 |
| BRITAIN | LOST | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| AUSTRIA | WON | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| FRANCE | WON | 1 | – | 1 | DNF | – |
| HUNGARY | LOST | 3 | – | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| BELGIUM | LOST | 4 | – | 15 | 6 | 9 |
| NETHERLANDS | WON | 2 | – | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| ITALY | WON | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| SINGAPORE | WON | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| JAPAN | WON | 2 | – | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| UNITED STATES | LOST | 2 | – | 12 | 3 | 9 |
| MEXICO | LOST | 7 | – | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| BRAZIL | LOST | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| ABU DHABI | WON | 3 | – | 3 | 2 | 1 |
RACE BY RACE: CHARLES LECLERC’S 2022 F1 SEASON IN STATISTICS
2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
After becoming the 36th driver to record ten pole positions in F1, Charles Leclerc ended Ferrari’s second-longest win drought at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. Leclerc became the team’s fifth different winner in Bahrain and the ninth overall at the circuit. It was the third victory of his career; his first since the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. As a result of his win, Leclerc becomes the 61st different driver to lead the Drivers’ Championship.
2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver in all three practice sessions at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It was the first time a driver has achieved that feat since Max Verstappen at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix and the first time Leclerc achieved the feat since the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Finishing as runner-up, Leclerc missed out on the win by 0.549 seconds in the 44th closest finish to an F1 race. Leclerc recorded podium finishes at consecutive races for the first time since his run of four top three results between the 2019 Belgian and Russian Grands Prix and set the fastest lap at consecutive races for the first time since the 2019 Mexican and United States Grands Prix.
2022 Australian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took Ferrari’s first pole at the Australian Grand Prix since 2007 and became the first driver other than Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel to take pole at Albert Park since Jenson Button in 2009. Leclerc went on to win the race, becoming the first Albert Park polesitter to win the race since Hamilton in 2015.
Having taken pole, won the race, set the fastest lap and led every lap, Leclerc became the 26th driver to record a Grand Slam in Formula 1. Leclerc is the first Ferrari driver to record a Grand Slam since Fernando Alonso at the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix.
After the Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc leads the championship by 34 points. Nico Rosberg is the only driver to have had a larger points lead after the first three races of the season. He led by 36 points after the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix. Leclerc’s lead is larger than the lead that any driver had after any Grand Prix in the 2021 season.
2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Along with Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc is one of only two drivers who has scored in all of the last three races at Imola.
2022 Miami Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, taking the 12th pole position of his Formula 1 career. He equalled Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard for 33rd in the all-time list of most F1 poles. Leclerc took Ferrari’s 14th pole position in the United States – the team’s first in the country since Michael Schumacher took pole at Indianapolis for the 2006 United States Grand Prix. He became the 36th different driver to take pole position for a World Championship Grand Prix in the United States.
2022 Spanish Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the 17th different driver to take pole at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Leclerc secured Ferrari’s eighth pole position at the circuit. It was the team’s first pole at the track since 2008. In the race, Leclerc retired with a power unit issue. He recorded his first retirement since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. This was Leclerc’s second DNF at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya , having also retired in 2020. Leclerc became the first Spanish Grand Prix polesitter to fail to finish since Lewis Hamilton in 2016.
2022 Monaco Grand Prix
For the second year in a row, Charles Leclerc secured pole position for his home Grand Prix. He became the eleventh driver to take pole at the Monaco Grand Prix in successive seasons. Leclerc took the 14th pole position of his career, equalling the career tally of Alberto Ascari, James Hunt, Ronnie Peterson, Rubens Barrichello and Max Verstappen. With Leclerc equalling Ascari’s pole tally, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda and Felipe Massa are now the only drivers to have taken more pole positions with Ferrari.
On his fourth attempt, Charles Leclerc finally finished his home race for the first time. He became the first Monegasque driver to finish their home race since Olivier Beretta in 1994 and, with fourth place, became the first Monegasque driver to score points at their home race since Louis Chiron in 1950.
2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
In the sixth race weekend at Baku City Circuit, Charles Leclerc became the track’s first repeat polesitter. This was the 15th pole position of his career, putting him 22nd in the all-time list. No driver has ended their F1 career with exactly 15 poles. He made this the 25th time that a driver has started on the front row at eight or more consecutive races, becoming the 15th driver to achieve the feat.
For the second time in three races, Leclerc retired whilst leading the race. Leclerc has taken pole for all of the last four races but has failed to win any of them. The last driver to take pole for four or more races in a row and fail to win any was Juan Pablo Montoya, between the 2002 Monaco and French Grands Prix. Leclerc became the first polesitter at Baku City Circuit to fail to finish the race.
2022 Canadian Grand Prix
With a back of the grid power unit penalty on the cards for Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque driver did not reach Q3 or qualify on the front row for the first time this year. This was only the third time that a Ferrari driver has not reached Q3 in Canada, after Felipe Massa in 2013 and Sebastian Vettel in 2015. Leclerc made up 14 positions on his drive from 19th to fifth in the race. That’s the most positions he has ever gained in a race. Leclerc became the first driver to score points having started 19th on the grid in Canada since Sebastian Vettel, who finished eighth in 2008.
2022 British Grand Prix
With third place, Charles Leclerc equalled his best qualifying result at Silverstone. He also qualified third here in 2019. This was the first time Leclerc has been out-qualified by a team-mate at the circuit.
2022 Austrian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took victory at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, recording his first victory since April’s Australian Grand Prix. This was his first podium finish since the Miami Grand Prix. This was Leclerc’s fifth victory in total, making him the 54th driver to win five Grands Prix during his Formula 1 career.
This was the first time Leclerc has won a race at which he did not start from from pole position. He is one of only five drivers to have taken all of his first four wins from pole. The list also includes Niki Lauda, Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
Leclerc became the 24th different driver to win at Spielberg circuit and the 25th different driver to win in Austria in F1 history. He is the 52nd different driver to have won at five or more venues during his career.
2022 French Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the 2022 French Grand Prix. This was his seventh pole of the 2022 season; his first since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Recording his 16th pole with Ferrari, Leclerc moves ahead of Felipe Massa to third in the list of most poles with the team. Only Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda are now ahead of Leclerc.
Crashing out while leading, Leclerc recorded his third retirement of the year. This is the third time in the last seven races that Leclerc has retired whilst leading the race. Leclerc became the first polesitter at Circuit Paul Ricard who failed to win since the last Ferrari driver to take pole at the track – Nigel Mansell in 1990. He is only the third driver to retire having taken pole at the circuit. The other was Ayrton Senna in 1986.
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc qualified in third place, which is his best Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying result to date. Leclerc finished in sixth place, recording his seventh non-podium result in the last eight races. Lewis Hamilton has now had more podium results in 2022 than Leclerc.
2022 Belgian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc made his first Q3 appearance at the Belgian Grand Prix since taking pole in 2019. He set the fourth fastest time and was out-qualified by a team-mate at the circuit for the first time. Coming home in sixth place after a five-second pit lane speeding penalty was applied, Leclerc became the first driver to score at Spa having started from 15th on the grid since Jean-Eric Vergne in 2012.
2022 Dutch Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc made his 74th start with Ferrari at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix, putting him into the top ten of most starts made with the Scuderia, overtaking Clay Regazzoni. In the race, Leclerc returned to the podium for the first time since his Austrian Grand Prix win in July. This is only the second time he has finished on the podium in the last 10 races.
2022 Italian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, recording the 17th pole of his Formula 1 career. He equalled Jackie Stewart and Max Verstappen for 19th in the all-time list of most poles. This was Leclerc’s eighth pole of the 2022 season, becoming the first Ferrari driver to take eight poles in a single season since Michael Schumacher in 2004. Aside from Leclerc and Schumacher – the latter achieving the feat in 2000, 2001 and 2004 – Niki Lauda is the only other Ferrari driver to take eight or more poles in a year. He did so in 1974 and 1975.
Leclerc also became the fifth Ferrari driver to have taken multiple pole positions in Italy, after Alberto Ascari (1952 & 1953), Jacky Ickx (1970 & 1972), Niki Lauda (1974 & 1975) and Michael Schumacher (1998, 2000 & 2003).
Leclerc failed to convert his pole into a win, but did record consecutive podium finishes for the first time since the first three races of the season. He became the 52nd driver to record 20 podium finishes in Formula 1, equalling the career totals of Giuseppe Farina and John Watson.
2022 Singapore Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc took the 18th pole position of his career at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, equalling Mario Andretti, Rene Arnoux and Kimi Raikkonen for 16th in the all-time list of most poles. He has taken half of his career poles during the 2022 season. Leclerc became the first driver to take back-to-back pole positions at the Singapore Grand Prix in its 13-race history, but still remains winless. This was the second Singapore Grand Prix in a row at which Leclerc has started from pole position and finished second.
Leclerc finished on the podium for the third consecutive race. It’s his first run of three successive podium results since the opening three races of the year. He became the 50th driver to record 21 podium finishes during his Formula 1 career.
2022 Japanese Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc set the second fastest time in qualifying, making this the second successive Suzuka race for which he started on the front row. Leclerc finished in third place, losing one position from where he started for the fourth race in a row. This was his fourth consecutive podium result, equalling the longest podium streak of his career. He last finished on the podium at four races in a row between the 2019 Canadian and British Grands Prix. Leclerc recorded his 22nd top three finish, equalling Rene Arnoux for 49th in the all-time list of most podiums. It was the 20th podium finish for a Ferrari driver at Suzuka.
2022 United States Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc finished in third place, recording his fifth consecutive podium finish; the longest podium streak of his career to date. This was Leclerc’s first podium finish at the United States Grand Prix. He became the 12th different driver to finish on the podium at COTA.
In total, this was Leclerc’s 23rd podium finish. He equals James Hunt, Michele Alboreto and Jacques Villeneuve for 46th in the all-time podium list. Leclerc finished on the podium from 12th on the grid. This was the first podium finish recorded from 12th on the grid in over ten years, since Sergio Perez finished as runner-up at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix.
2022 Mexico City Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc made his 100th Grand Prix start at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the 77th driver to reach that milestone. Coming home in sixth place, Leclerc failed to finish on the podium for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix. Leclerc is still yet to finish in the top four in Mexico.
2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
At the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc became the ninth driver to start 80 races with Ferrari, equalling Michele Alboreto’s total number of starts with the Italian team. Taking tenth place in Friday qualifying, Leclerc recorded his worst qualifying result since the Canadian Grand Prix, where he qualified 15th. Leclerc finished Sunday’s race in fourth place, recording his best-ever Interlagos result.
2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
With third place, Charles Leclerc recorded his best Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying result to date. With second place in the race, Leclerc secured second in the Drivers’ Championship. This is the first time since 2018 that a Ferrari driver has finished in the top two in the end of year standings.
Leclerc finished on the podium for the first time since the Singapore Grand Prix. This was Leclerc’s 24th podium finish, equalling Stirling Moss, John Surtees and Alan Jones for 43rd on the all-time list of most top three results. This was Leclerc’s best Abu Dhabi Grand Prix result to date. His previous best result here was third place in 2019. Leclerc became the tenth driver to take multiple podium finishes at Yas Marina Circuit.
