Charles Leclerc hails ‘amazing’ Baku pole run as he hopes Ferrari can ‘play a team game’ to keep rivals behind on race day

Charles Leclerc expressed his satisfaction after charging to a fourth consecutive pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having fended off McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz in Saturday’s qualifying session.

Leclerc, who also nailed his one-lap performances around the Baku City Circuit in 2021, 2022 and 2023, delivered a masterclass in the decisive Q3 phase to finish three-tenths clear of Piastri and another tenth up on Sainz.

Now Leclerc’s challenge is to turn his latest pole into his first victory at the track, with Red Bull winning in the Land of Fire for the last three campaigns and the Monegasque recording a best finish of third in 2023.

“It’s one of my favourite tracks; I really like it,” he said after qualifying. “It hasn’t been an easy weekend, because obviously the crash in FP1, which didn’t make me lose confidence. I knew that the pace was there, but obviously you’ve got to build back up to speed.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - SEPTEMBER 14: Pole position qualifier Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari, — Leclerc will start just ahead of McLaren rival Piastri and team mate Sainz

“Then in FP2 we had a problem on a new part we brought on the car and there was something wrong there, so we lost another half an hour, and it’s laps that you don’t really recover, so I was a bit… not worried, but I knew that we had to make up some time.

“The pace was always there and then in qualifying and Q3 it was all about trying to stay as far as possible off the walls. In that last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely. The car felt really good and everything felt great, so it’s amazing to be on pole.”

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Asked about the strategic benefit of having two Ferraris at the front of the field, Leclerc added: “Let’s say it was the best we could’ve hoped for. Normally the even side of the grid has a little bit less grip, so first and third is where you want to start.

“Hopefully we can play a team game tomorrow to win that race, but it’s going to be a long race. In the past we’ve been very strong in qualifying, struggling a bit in the race. This year we have a stronger race car so I hope that we can finally make it tomorrow.”

Sainz offered a similar assessment to his team mate as Ferrari attempt to take advantage of a Q1 exit for Lando Norris – as well as P4 and P6 starts for Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen – to close on McLaren and Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.

Qualifying Highlights: 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

“I think we had a solid quali, a solid day in general with the two cars, and I think we put ourselves in a very good position for tomorrow,” the Spaniard commented.

“I’ve never really been 100% hooked up around here in my career. It’s a track that I tend to struggle with a bit, so to be P3 is a good position for tomorrow as also my race pace yesterday seemed strong, so it’s all to play for tomorrow.”

He continued: “The track was ramping up a lot and we were getting more and more grip as the track cools down and the sun goes down, so it was all about adapting. I found something going into Q3 that gave me a bit more confidence.

“It probably wasn’t the best of the build ups to that Q3 lap, but at least I found something that allowed me to put it into the top three, which is a decent position for tomorrow.”