Autosport

Leclerc highlights key factor for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after qualifying victory

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc shared his thoughts on his pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session and looked ahead to the upcoming race.

The Monaco-born driver clocked in at 1:41.365 to secure the pole position. Oscar Piastri of McLaren took second place with a time of 1:41.686, while Leclerc's teammate, Carlos Sainz, will start third with a time of 1:41.805.

"This is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. The weekend has been challenging — especially after the crash in the first practice session. However, it did not shake my confidence. I knew we had the pace. We encountered issues with a new component in the second practice, which cost us another half an hour. In qualifying, the key was to avoid the walls, and on the last lap, I pushed a bit more and managed to secure a great time. The car felt fantastic, everything went well, and I'm delighted to be on pole position.

Starting from first and third are the positions you want, and I hope we can execute tomorrow's race in a way that lets us win. In previous years, we've had race troubles, but now our long-run pace has improved. Hopefully, we can achieve a victory tomorrow. It will be crucial to manage the tires, and we did well in Monza. But each race is unique," Leclerc said after the qualifying session.

This marks the fourth time in his career that Charles Leclerc has secured pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, the Monegasque driver has never claimed victory in the main race in Baku. Last season, the Ferrari driver finished third, behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez of Red Bull.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place tomorrow, September 15.