4th pole position in a row for Leclerc in Baku, Sainz explains his teammate's ease in Azerbaijan

Never really in the match for pole but always well placed throughout the weekend, in a range between 2 and 6/10ths compared to his teammate, Carlos Sainz didn't seem to be in the hole this Saturday after qualifying. The competitor that he is, always very cerebral and good-spirited, clearly didn't even expect to get a place in the top 3, given his general lack of ease on a track that hasn't really smiled on him since the beginning of his career, he who had never done better than 4th on the grid until then.

“It’s one of my worst tracks, and probably the best at Charles, so I’m already happy to be third and to have a good position for Sunday. I still need to improve things in qualifying, to stop the car more efficiently on long braking. It’s all about confidence here to brake 3 or 3 meters further, and it’s those meters that are fundamental here. It’s strange because I’ve always been good on street circuits like Monaco or Singapore, but Baku, even after 4 years of F1, is not part of it. Every time I come here, I try to improve and find piloting benchmarks but it doesn't work." 

Sainz tells Leclerc in Baku. © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

After being forced to observe the celebration of Charles Leclerc with the tifosi at Monza following his victory clinched two weeks ago, Carlos Sainz saw his teammate celebrate a third pole position this year with the team, a fourth in his career on this Azeri track. Always willing to talk in press conferences, including in the most difficult moments, the Spaniard paid tribute to his Monegasque buddy with great class, acknowledging that he studies his data to try to go faster here.

“Of course I look at Charles’ data, and it’s the braking (which make the difference), slipped the Madrilenian. It's all about that here. You have to stop the car as late as possible, trust the car "It's about the fact that it will turn well in the corner, and that's what he (Leclerc) is most good at here. And he's comfortable almost from the first lap of free practice 1." The Monegasque's heavy braking abilities give him a clear advantage over the competition, having already taken pole in 2021, even though he did not have the fastest car at all, even on one lap.

Leclerc does not have the magic recipe

“It’s not my best pole here, probably the one in 2021 was even better because we were in a difficult year and we were fighting for 9th place often, so the pole was special., Leclerc testified for his part. It was still a very good lap. For some reason, there hasn't been much of a drop in performance between my laps here over the years. I seem to be very consistent here, but I don't have a magic answer or explanation for that. I just like the pace of this circuit. Every lap I've done here since FP1 has been good from the start, and the balance has been good." 

There is only one goal left for Leclerc to achieve in Baku, and that is to finally collect his first victory, after failing in his first three attempts. This time, his Ferrari seems as well suited to qualifying as to racing, if not even more so to racing. So why not imagine a happy ending for the Monegasque, finally? A victory in Baku would allow him to win the same year on the three circuits on which he seems most comfortable (Monza, Monaco, Baku). And with his third place on the grid, perhaps Carlos Sainz could play his part by titillating Oscar piastri ? Answer Sunday, around 13 p.m.!

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