Charles Leclerc

Last season started full of promise for Leclerc and Ferrari. They brought home two victories and two runner-up finishes in the first five races. That was before everything went south. Ferrari suffered a major mid-season slump and outgoing team principal Mattia Binotto admitted the team gave up developing the 2022 car after just 12 races to focus fully on the 2023 machine. The single-lap pace was an eye opener, though. After Binotto says the team stopped development Leclerc still managed to score three more front row starts. Race pace and race strategy are where Leclerc needs his team's support to take one step forward from his second-place finish in the 2022 championship standings time. Frederic Vasseur, who Leclerc worked with at Sauber in the past, will take the helm from Binotto as Ferrari's team principal in 2023. That could be the key change Leclerc and Ferrari need to mount an even bigger challenge to Red Bull.