On Ferrari’s Baku Friday there is a lot of Charles Leclerc. Among the narrow streets of the capital of Azerbaijan, the Prancing Horse found its first pole position of the season thanks to the talent of the Monegasque, capable of pulling yet another magic out of the hat in qualifying.
A real breath of fresh air that brings back a few smiles inside the Ferrari garage, full of meaning after a championship start that is difficult to digest, but which must not be left to easy enthusiasm because, after all, “it’s only Friday” . Of course, compared to what usually happens, this Friday counts for something more, but it’s only the first day of a demanding weekend, where Ferrari still has to fight against its weak points, namely pace and long-distance degradation.
Despite some difficulties, the SF-23 had already demonstrated on other occasions that it performs better over the flying lap, even giving some satisfaction, even if it never achieved a pole. In Azerbaijan, the Reds also ticked this box, which was received almost as a surprise because the primary objective was to get behind Mercedes and Aston Martin.
Although it is true that the Baku track is more congenial to certain peculiarities of the Prancing Horse single-seater, on the other hand the performances on the Red Bull stretches left more than a few doubts regarding the chances of the SF-23 to have its say in qualifying .
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Red Bull still dominates on the forehand
Observing the telemetry of the Leclerc-Verstappen confrontation, the theme of top speeds emerges once again with a central element of the analysis, because at the end of the main straight the RB19 can count on a maximum advantage of 12 km/h.
An advantage that yes arises when the two open the DRS wide open, but which is not found, however, on the following draw, the one after turn three: the only difference is noticed precisely in the final meters of the draw, where the Ferrari’s classic derating problems, an aspect on which, on the contrary, the Honda Power Unit has always proved to be a point of reference.
Fortunately for the Monegasque, this disadvantage in terms of top speed didn’t weigh decisively on the final result. On the stretch out of the last corner to the point where the DRS could be activated, this year moved one hundred meters towards the finish line reducing the area in which it is possible to use the mobile wing, the SF-23 proven competitive, having very little to envy to the RB19. That speed advantage that Red Bull could count on therefore only paid off for a few hundred meters between the end of the lap and that short stretch from the checkered line to the first corner, not enough to compensate when lost in other stretches.
![Azerbaijan qualifications telemetry comparison](https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/mgl/24vKQZg6/s1000/confronto-telemetrie-qualifich-1.jpg)
Azerbaijan qualifications telemetry comparison
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
Leclerc the fastest in slow corners
In the first sector, the two riders reached the detection photocell with a very similar chrono, finding time in different areas of the track. Keeping in mind what has been said about the gap on the straights, in turn one we can appreciate a very different approach by the two rivals, with Leclerc capable of pulling away late bringing so much speed to the apex, as we also saw in the replay in which he grazed the walls, while Verstappen has opted for an approach aimed at taking a few less risks. A cleaner style in which the Dutchman tried to keep a line as close as possible to the inside curb to prepare for the exit, even at the cost of sacrificing entry and travel speed.
However, it is interesting to pay attention above all to the first and second sectors, the one where Leclerc was able to get something extra out of the cylinder, also scoring the best partial.
At the end of qualifying Laurent Mekies explained that he was surprised by the performance of the Italian single-seater, however underlining the progress in the slow corners that had already been seen in Melbourne: “I’d be lying if I said that here we expected to fight for pole position. But I think that’s true, as Fred explained [Vasseur] after Melbourne, we had the feeling that in Melbourne the car was in a different window, giving us some performance, especially at low speed.”
![Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23](https://cdn-3.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0rGbVvm2/s1000/charles-leclerc-ferrari-sf-23-1.jpg)
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
“There are a lot more low-speed corners here, so somehow we had some confirmation today,” said Ferrari’s sporting director, pointing to some of the improvements already seen in Australia in the low-speed corners.
An aspect that also recurred in Baku, especially in the rapid changes of direction such as the 5-6 sequence and the area exiting the castle, where Leclerc proved to be particularly competitive. Unlike what was seen in other rounds, especially in Bahrain, Ferrari seems to have returned to having good performance in slow motion and also in traction, something that had been lacking at the start of the championship.
On the other hand, Verstappen did well in the third sector: although the telemetry shows a good minimum speed from Leclerc, something similar to what happened in turn one occurred, with the Dutchman more focused on getting a good exit. From then on, the goodness of the RB19 on the straight came out, enough to guarantee him the fastest time in the last split, but not enough to equalize what he lost to Leclerc in the rest of the track.
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