The Monegasque driver did not make excuses for the crash that forced him to retire in Q3, but he highlighted the significant difficulties Ferrari faced with the medium tires.
Double setback
Qualifying in Baku proved disastrous for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton finishing 12th and failing to reach the fight for pole position in Q3. Meanwhile, his teammate Charles Leclerc did initially make it into Q3, only to cause one of the six red flags displayed during the session.
The medium tires
Just minutes after the green light, the Monegasque hit the barriers without setting a timed lap, meaning car #16 will start from 10th on the grid. “Rain cannot be an excuse, it was definitely my mistake,” Charles Leclerc admitted to Sky Sport F1. “One thing I can say is that today we really struggled with the medium tires. Yesterday we tested them with both cars, and it seemed Lewis had a bit more. Today, with the temperature change being more aggressive than yesterday, we never managed to get the tires into the right window. Even looking at the lap before my mistake, I was 7-8 tenths off the pace of the drivers ahead and I was pushing a lot. That certainly didn’t help, and we couldn’t find a way to get them working properly. In the end, the soft tires might have given us a little more under these temperatures.”
Hopes for a comeback
The issue was therefore mainly linked to the tire compound rather than the light rain that fell during Q3 in Baku. Charles Leclerc’s next goal is to mount a comeback in the race, perhaps inspired by Daniel Ricciardo’s 2017 performance, when he climbed from 10th on the grid to the top step of the podium. “What I have in mind is to try to repeat what Ricciardo did in 2017, but it will be very difficult,” he added. “I think the Red Bulls and McLarens are stronger this weekend, and Max Verstappen also has an advantage starting ahead, so it will be very hard to repeat it, but we’ll try.”
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