Charles Leclerc showed enormous pace today but was beaten by Sergio Perez during the sprint race. After the latter’s overtake, the Monegasque wasn’t far behind his opponent. However, he didn’t choose to be similarly aggressive to him.
According to Leclerc, a major weakness in his car didn’t allow him to redeem his position back. Instead, he opted to play safe, finish in P2, and return the car safely after 17 laps.
“I didn’t fight Checo too much because I wanted to try to keep my tires as I knew this was our weakness,” said Leclerc. “I tried to stay within the DRS of Checo so he could pull me on the straight, but that wasn’t enough.
That’s P2 for @Charles_Leclerc 🙌
An INCREDIBLE drive 🔥
#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/RDuiS28CD2
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 29, 2023
Charles Leclerc set for yet another top start
Leclerc has been the star of the show in Azerbaijan. He has been the fastest in both qualifyings and even for the main race. He will start from the pole position and seems to have a fast straight-line speed.
But Red Bull is still faster, as apparent with Perez’s speed. Also, Max Verstappen seemed to be catching Lecerc, but the damage he took from George Russell slowed him down by almost eight-tenths of a second.
But with the above remarks by Leclerc, it could also mean that Ferrari could be hiding something for Sunday since they already have the right cars. In short, it could be an intense competition between the two sides.
First pole of the season, it feels really good and the lap was 🔥
The feeling with the car was really good too, proud @ScuderiaFerrari ❤️ pic.twitter.com/edaZ7tmxV9— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) April 28, 2023
Aiming for the first win
Leclerc had a poor start to the season when he only secured six points in the first three races. But now, with continuous strong performances over the last two days, he would definitely aim to end it with a win.
This year so far, only Red Bull drivers have managed to win races. With Leclerc squashing that streak, it could very well open the scope of Ferrari challenging Red Bull’s dominance.
Azerbaijan has never seen a repeated winner ever since its F1 debut. But tomorrow, Leclerc, Verstappen, and Perez, who all have won in Baku before, are leading the contention to win on Sunday. So, the curse will be finally lifted.
