Charles Leclerc found an unlikely solace after the harsh end to his Azerbaijan Grand Prix race. The Ferrari driver asked Sergio Perez to let him have the “winner seat” as the drivers resorted to the cooldown room following the race’s conclusion in Baku.
As per the footage after the race, Leclerc was seen sitting in the cooldown room with Max Verstappen. As Perez arrived on the scene a few seconds later, he took his cap and was on his way to sit on his designated chair.
However, the Monegasque was already sitting on the chair as he smiled and asked, “Do you want your seat?” Hearing this, the Mexican replied, “No, no it’s okay.” The Ferrari star then suppressed his pain and joked, “Let me have this seat at least!”
Admittedly, the Baku race has been hard for the Monegasque driver. Despite claiming pole positions both on Friday and Saturday, he failed to convert them to win on both occasions. This was because the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez were mighty fast compared to Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Leclerc focuses on Ferrari’s drawback
Speaking at the post-race interview, the 25-year-old mentioned their drawback against the defending champions. When asked by Damon Hill to talk about the race, he emphasized the RB-19s mighty race pace, which the SF-23 lacked.
The former Sauber man added that despite pulling off a good lap to take the pole position, it wasn’t enough to keep the Bulls behind for 51 laps despite hopes. The Monegasque also mentioned that the Italian team is still to find the sweet spot Red Bull has already found this season.
However, there was something that the Ferrari star could be happy about. Leclerc can cherish how he managed to keep Fernando Alonso behind till the very end. The Spanish driver was approaching very fast with his Aston Martin to continue his podium run, but it was too little too late.
How did the Azerbaijan GP turn out for Leclerc?
If not great, the Baku race weekend might be considered a step up in front for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc. The fourth race of the season delivered the Italian team their first podium of the season and Leclerc his first major point haul.
Before the Azerbaijan race, the 25-year-old languished in P10 with just six points on board. Now after a decent outcome in Baku, Leclerc will go to Miami in P7 with 28 points, six lesser than his teammate Carlos Sainz who’s with 34 points and P6
In the Constructors’ championship, the Prancing Horse closed their gap to Aston Martin and Mercedes as well. Scuderia Ferrari now has 62 points and is positioned in P4. They trail the British and German teams by 25 and 14 points, respectively.
