Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) faces penalty: Harsh criticism following Hamilton controversy

For Charles Leclerc (28), it’s always all or nothing on the streets of Baku: he has secured four consecutive pole positions on the tricky Baku City Circuit (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), but in 2019 and 2024 he crashed his Ferrari into the wall as he entered the old town – at exactly the same spot. After his second mistake back then, Charles said over the radio: “I’m so stupid.”

Of course, the 2022 World Championship runner-up could well be the fastest in qualifying again this year, but he’s unlikely to start from pole position. That’s because the nine-time Grand Prix winner faces a penalty as he needs a new Ferrari engine.

Leclerc and the Ferrari strategists have come to the conclusion that, of the upcoming World Championship races in Baku, Sepang and Singapore, the circuit in Azerbaijan offers the best opportunity to make up places after a grid penalty.

Leclerc said in Baku: “Our starting position isn’t great, because when it comes to the car’s performance, we’ve struggled more in qualifying this year than in the race. To have any chance of winning in Baku, we need to be right up the front of the grid, and that won’t be easy for obvious reasons.”

“I don’t want to comment here on how we’ll proceed with the power units. The engine involved in the crash at Monza is still usable, but it’s not yet clear whether we’ll be able to make do with it until the end of the season.”

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“As far as I’m concerned, I simply enjoy this track; perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I often manage to achieve good results here.”

As for the F1 pecking order, Leclerc says: “Mercedes has always been the benchmark; nothing has changed there. What has changed, however, is the tremendous progress made by McLaren. As for Ferrari – it’s up to us to do a better job. We’ve struggled over the past few Grand Prix weekends for various reasons; that has to change.”

People are still talking about Leclerc’s duel with Lewis Hamilton. Charles calls out the critics: “Sometimes I go a bit too far when we’re battling it out, sometimes he does. But I think what happens at Ferrari is often over-analysed and over-discussed.”

“At Monza, there were team battles involving three of the top four teams, including cars ending up in the gravel, but I get the impression it’s only Ferrari that people are still talking about. That’s completely unnecessary. Lewis and I know exactly what we need to do on the track, and we don’t need any special rules of conduct to do so.”