Charles Leclerc doubled his points tally for the season with a P2 in the 2023 Azerbaijan GP sprint race. The Monegasque also managed to secure the pole position for Sunday’s race in Baku. The pace shown by Ferrari this weekend is a great improvement from the first three races of the season.
However, Leclerc claims the improved performance has come at the cost of poor tire management. The Ferrari driver struggled to overtake sprint winner Sergio Perez. He was losing time and faced the threat of an overtake by Max Verstappen.
His performance has been appreciated by many, with Mercedes team Principal Toto Wolff lauding the racer for his superior defensive driving.
Toto Wolff claims Leclerc’s performance was nothing short of a ‘Masterclass’
Towards the last few laps of the race, Leclerc was losing grip. The gap between the Ferrari and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull had widened. However, Leclerc managed to keep his car in control despite the peril of losing the position to Max Verstappen.
Mercedes’ Toto Wolff observed the Monegasque’s driving and credited the driver for brilliantly controlling the last few laps of the sprint. He said, “The Ferrari fell a bit off during the race but Charles did it cleverly.”
Charles Leclerc was pleased with his P2 finish in the Sprint! 👏
A promising step forward for @ScuderiaFerrari ⭐️#AzerbaijanGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/ofZHO1PkwA
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023
The Monegasque managed to defend the advances of the Dutchman to claim P2 Wolff added, “He knew he couldn’t hold Perez but maybe Max. Masterclass.”
Charles Leclerc admits huge gap remains between Ferrari and Red Bull
After a poor start to the season, it seems Ferrari has finally cracked the code and managed to keep a check on their rivals. Charles Leclerc claims there is still a huge gap between the Italian outfit and Red Bull.
The Monegasque admits there was nothing much to salvage apart from 2nd place. He said to Sky Sports, “There is nothing left in a race like this. I’m not happy, because finishing P2 will never make me happy, but there was not much more to do today.”
🎙️| Charles Leclerc:
“I’m not happy, because finishing P2 will never make me happy, but there was not much more to do today.”
“Our car is just too aggressive on tyres.”
“I don’t think there is much room for improvement tomorrow, but I will do everything again.” pic.twitter.com/o3HdPUVqWU
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) April 29, 2023
Leclerc admits the SF-23 still fares poorly on the tire management side. He added, “Time management was good, but we have a car that is very aggressive on tires.” He said after the race, his tires were dead, and comparatively, the Red Bull cars were much better.
The Ferrari driver will be starting on pole position for Sunday’s race in Baku. It is unlikely he will keep Max Verstappen at bay for 51 laps. Nevertheless, Leclerc claims Ferrari has come a long way and cannot wait to win races again with his team.
