Charles Leclerc achieves his first podium of the year in Azerbaijan
Charles Leclerc turned the page on a very difficult start to the season by performing a great achievement this weekend in Baku. Twice on pole position, the Monegasque driver reached the podium at the end of both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix.
Finally! After three nightmarish races, Charles Leclerc had a great start to his weekend by claiming the pole position on Friday. Already fast during free practice, he confirmed his performance in qualifying by finishing just ahead of Max Verstappen. This is his third consecutive pole position in Baku.
Two races, two podiums
Repeating the next day! Confirming his good form, the Monegasque inaugurated this new format in the best way possible by also securing the pole position for the sprint race.
Starting in the lead ahead of the two Red Bulls, however, he was not able to hold off Sergio Pérez’s car for very long. It was shortly after the restart due to the Safety Car that the Mexican, aided by his DRS, managed to overtake him. The Ferrari driver then successfully managed the approaching Dutch monster who was dangerously close behind. Hindered by the damage to his car caused by a collision with George Russell, Verstappen was unable to come back, allowing Charles Leclerc to take second place on the podium.
Having started strong on Sunday, Leclerc was quickly overtaken by Verstappen who was speeding through the straight line. Helpless against the velocity of the reigning world champion team, the Scuderia driver fell back to third position. Concerned multiple times by Fernando Alonso, he ultimately retained this position at the end of a race that he considers to be the loneliest there is, and he scored more points than in the previous three races combined.
With the support of the council
This second podium in two days proves Ferrari’s progress. Capable of being ahead in qualifying, there is still a long way to go to match Red Bull’s level in the race. That is the opinion shared by Charles Leclerc in an interview with Canal+ on the sidelines of the Grand Prix.
« We still lack quite a bit during the race. Red Bull has a better race car than us, and Aston Martin as well, especially Fernando Alonso who made a comeback at the end, so we still need to work, we know that. It’s still good to at least finish a race, to score some points because the start of the season hasn’t always been positive. The performance on a single lap was good this weekend but not enough during the race.
