Charles Leclerc rejoices clinching pole position at one of his ‘favorite’ tracks in F1

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari had an impressive outing at the Azerbaijan GP qualifying.

Charles Leclerc rejoices clinching pole position at one of his ‘favorite’ tracks in F1

Charles Leclerc (Via: Imago)

The paddock rolled up to the Azerbaijan GP expecting the fight to be between McLaren and Red Bull. Despite Ferrari winning the last race in Monza, experts reckoned their pace to be an anomaly. However, the results for qualifying spoke differently as Charles Leclerc claimed another pole around Baku as he labeled the street circuit one of his favorites.

Charles Leclerc has had a great record around Baku in qualifying. The Monegasque has been a constant contender for poles around the 6-kilometer track. Moreover, his impressive qualifying record made him join an elite list of drivers who have claimed the pole at the same track for four consecutive races, including names like Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, etc.

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Subsequently, after achieving this feat, the Monacan racing driver was on cloud nine and described his venture around one of his favorite tracks.

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It's one of my favourite tracks of the season. The pace was always there, and in Q3 in that last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came nicely, the car felt really good and it is amazing to be on pole.
Charles Leclerc said post qualifying

Leclerc claimed that pace was always there for him underneath the SF-24. He revealed that he pushed the car even more in his last flying run and the car remained obedient. Furthermore, he confessed that it felt really good to be on pole around one of his favorite tracks and would hope to win the race starting from the prime position tomorrow.

Great day for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc ahead of race in Azerbaijan

As indicated earlier, Ferrari was not taken into consideration for a fight at the front around Baku. Regardless, the team exceeded expectations and is on course to gain a huge haul of points on their constructor’s championship rivals.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Following his P3 qualifying result, Carlos Sainz was content with his effort around the street circuit.

I think we had a solid quali, solid day and we have put ourselves in a good position for tomorrow. I've never been 100% hooked up here in my career, it's a track I tend to struggle at.
Carlos Sainz said post qualifying

The Spaniard reckoned that he had a solid session. He further explained that the team is in a great position for the race tomorrow as they would be starting on the cleaner side of the grid which could give them an edge over Oscar Piastri, who split the scarlet duo in qualifying.

On the other hand, championship contender Lando Norris was knocked out in Q1. This has increased the pressure on the Brit to recover from his bad grid spot and make moves during the race tomorrow to save his dwindling driver’s title bid.