“I don’t know,” answers Charles Leclerc to the question of whether he is a tiger or tactician, a Villeneuve or a Prost as an earlier generation might have termed it. “As soon as I’m in the car I have that killer instinct, yes. I don’t want to finish second or third, fourth or fifth; those places don’t matter. I think it’s a strength but it can also be a weakness. Some of the mistakes I’ve done this year are part of this mentality because I gave it all in moments that I could have just taken less. Not everyone will like me, but it’s the way I am. This mentality has some positive aspects but can hurt in some other moments. I need to control it. With experience it will come.”

Which is his 2019 season in a nutshell, a thrilling swoops and dives campaign in just his second year in F1, ecstasy and agony as Ferrari’s youngest-ever grand prix winner, often the eye in the storm of controversy as he’s delivered a performance that has out-shaded that of quadruple champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

One of the highlights of that season was his rescuing of a massive oversteer moment on his final Q3 lap in Singapore, as he turned the Ferrari into Anderson Bridge. It looked like the prelude to disaster yet he somehow scooped it up like a bike racer having a high-sider, but without the loss of momentum. Still he pressed on, to what would become the ultimate white-knuckle pole lap of the year. There were seven of them in total – two more than anyone else – but that was by far the most dramatic.