“Happy is not the word,” Charles Leclerc dejected after Azerbaijan GP P3 behind Red Bull rocket ships

Charles Leclerc says his team is way behind Red Bull and Aston Martin “in terms of race pace”.

“Happy is not the word,” Charles Leclerc dejected after Azerbaijan GP P3 behind Red Bull rocket ships

Charles Leclerc. Image via Micheal Potts.

Charles Leclerc was pleased with his first podium finish of the 2023 season. But it was not long before reality hit him. There is a massive gap between Ferrari and its competitors. Though Leclerc put on a brilliant show and took two pole positions in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, he understands Ferrari’s limitations. The Monegasque driver was unable to keep both the Red Bulls behind him. 

Leclerc led the race until Sergio Perez, and Max Verstappen overtook him. And they did it with such ease. The RB19 is the most dominant car on the grid. The Ferrari driver did not stand a chance. However, he managed to keep Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso behind him throughout the 51 laps. The 25-year-old showed a high level of performance, and he managed his tires well in Baku.

Charles Leclerc spoke about Ferrari’s deficit in the post-race interview. He said, “[We] got closer, maybe a little bit, but we are still very far behind in race pace at least [compared to Red Bull], and I also think that we are behind Aston Martin in terms of race pace. Yeah, happy is probably not the word. It’s good to finally score points, as I’ve said many times this weekend.”

Related: “He’s a literal child,” Fans react as Charles Leclerc gets annoyed as Max Verstappen gets all the attention in post-race press conference

Charles Leclerc wants to work hard and challenge his rivals

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Charles Leclerc. Image via NZ Herald.

Leclerc added, “I don’t think that the six points we had coming into here were really representative of our true performance. But of course, we are lacking a lot of performance compared to the Red Bull guys and also to the Astons in the race, but we deserve more points. So it’s good to finally have those points. But now we just need to work extremely hard in order to fight with those guys again in the race.”

Ferrari maximized their package at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. They collected important points for the team. Charles Leclerc, who was tenth in the championship standings, improved to sixth place. Surprisingly, Ferrari made no mistakes in Baku. They scored more points than their rivals Mercedes and Aston Martin. Luckily, Ferrari did not suffer from reliability issues or any other mishaps.

 Leclerc is dissatisfied as they were 21 seconds behind Red Bull in Azerbaijan. Though Ferrari had a trouble-free weekend, they will have plenty of work to do. Team boss Frederic Vasseur and his star driver Charles Leclerc stated they want to win a championship. However, to do that, they will need to be aggressive. Ferrari needs to perform efficiently and deliver consistently.

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