F1 | Leclerc dampens enthusiasm: “We have to reset every time”

Leclerc’s best result in Baku was last year’s third place. Yet Charles has many fond memories of this track, starting with his first point-scoring finish (with Sauber in 2018) and the emotional victory he achieved the year before in Formula 2 (a few days after his father’s passing) to the three pole positions he achieved in the last three editions. Leclerc has something extra in Baku, and arriving on a friendly track ten days after his victory in Monza can be a source of euphoria. However, Leclerc himself is the one to tone it down.

“We have to reset every time we get to the track, without thinking about the previous race. In Montreal, the race after the victory in Monaco, we found ourselves in difficulty. So we have to arrive here with the right mentality and without expectations. Then, obviously, I can’t forget that this is one of my favorite tracks, I feel particularly comfortable here, but the preparation is the same, nothing changes compared to the other races of the world championship”.

Charles doesn’t want to raise the bar of expectations too high. After six years in the ‘red’ he knows that the pressure grows proportionally with the expectation of a great result…
“We are not yet at the same level as McLaren and Red Bull, but we are in a position that allows us to be ahead when our opponents are not optimising their package, and that is what we did in Monza. To be able to fight for the win consistently, we still need a few steps, today especially McLaren is even faster, then there is Red Bull”.

On one aspect Leclerc does not hold back, he knows that his feeling with the Baku track is an added value, and he does not deny it…
“I like all street circuits a bit because there is a different risk management compared to permanent tracks, where you have a certain margin to make a mistake. On a track like Baku you can’t afford the slightest mistake without having consequences, and it’s a challenge that I really enjoy. There have been occasions where I’ve left a few points on the road, but my approach won’t change because I think it’s a strong point. Our car also has a mechanical package that should marry well with the low-speed sections, overall I expect a positive weekend, but we still have to confirm it on track”.

Ferrari arrives in Baku with a Constructors’ standings that sees it at -39 from Red Bull and -31 from McLaren. The numbers say that the Scuderia can be in the running for the constructors’ championship, Leclerc confirms but on one condition…
“Yes, there is definitely an opportunity, everything is still up for grabs. But before thinking about the title we need to improve the car to be able to constantly fight for the win, we cannot count only on a success that came also thanks to the difficulties of our opponents”.

Charles, like everyone else on the Thursday before Baku, had to respond to the news that preceded the trip to Azerbaijan, namely the Newey-Aston Martin agreement, which came after a concrete hope of seeing ‘Genius’ in Maranello.
“I am not disappointed, I know that Adrian had discussions with Ferrari but in the end he made his decision which must be respected. As Ferrari I can say that we have always considered the group as a priority over the individual, then, we know that Adrian has an incredible list of achievements, but I think that on our side we have an incredible group, so I have no doubt that going forward we will be able to count on an extremely strong team to return to the top”.

“I’m really happy with the structure, then it’s Fred’s job to manage the team to try to win. I trust him 200%, and I completely agree with his vision, we are in the middle of a growth process, and I’m super happy with the way he sees things and how he manages the team.”