Charles Leclerc Warns Fans That Ferrari Is Still Behind Red Bull Despite Azerbaijan GP Pole

Charles Leclerc has taken his first pole position of the 2023 season for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After an incredibly dramatic day, Leclerc was able to put in the fastest lap in qualifying. It was looking insanely close during the early stages of Q3 after the Monegasque put in the exact same time as Max Verstappen, leaving Verstappen in provisional pole as he had been able to put the lap time in first. However, Leclerc was able to improve on the time when Verstappen was not.

During his post-qualifying interview with Mark Webber, Leclerc explained:

"For sure, I'm surprised. I mean, we came into the weekend thinking that it would be a great weekend if we are in front of Aston [Martin] and Mercedes in qualifying.

"And at the end, we are on pole so it's a really good surprise. We must not forget that our race car is maybe still behind the Red Bull. So, it's gonna be difficult to keep the lead but that's the target and I'm really really happy with the lap.

"I mean it's a very challenging weekend overall for us drivers because [there's] very little time to practice, we only had one FP1 and then you need to be straight on it but the feeling was good since the start so really, really happy."

When asked how he was feeling about the next session being another qualifying for the sprint shootout, Leclerc responded:

"It's gonna be challenging because we haven't run the medium yet. So tomorrow in qualifying will be the first time and we need to be on it because we only have one set so no room for mistake.

"But again, the pace was strong so hopefully we can learn in Q1 and Q2 and then push push in Q3 and then we know the car is good."

This is Leclerc's third pole position in Baku, making him the only driver to have a repeat pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

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