Charles Leclerc believes fourth place was the maximum Ferrari could realistically achieve at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, even after benefiting from Oscar Piastri running wide. Baku was never expected to be the circuit best suited to the SF-26, but the Monegasque highlighted a more concerning trend: Ferrari’s rivals are improving in the corners and beginning to erode an area that had previously been one of the car’s main strengths.
That concern goes beyond the characteristics of a single circuit. Charles Leclerc says Ferrari now needs to react, with new developments expected after the current triple-header as the Maranello team looks for another step forward during the final part of the season.
Charles Leclerc says fourth was Ferrari’s maximum in Baku
Charles Leclerc’s fourth-place finish in Baku carried the feeling of a damage-limitation result. Like Monza, the Azerbaijani circuit did not suit the SF-26 particularly well, highlighting its weaknesses more than its strengths. The problems were especially noticeable on the straights, where the lack of horsepower and limited flexibility in energy management were clearly felt.
However, qualifying and Charles Leclerc’s post-race comments suggested that Ferrari’s difficulties could not be explained by straight-line performance alone. Part of the deficit emerged through the slower section of the lap in sector two. Mercedes could afford to deploy more energy on the straights, but the unpredictability previously mentioned by Charles Leclerc, together with the SF-26’s considerable stiffness, indicated that there was more to the performance gap.
Those weaknesses had already been visible during the weekend, with Ferrari’s Baku FP3 analysis highlighting the progress and remaining limitations of the SF-26.
Mercedes and Red Bull expose Ferrari’s difficulties
The Mercedes W17 has consistently been particularly effective in traction zones and when putting the power unit’s performance onto the track, while Ferrari showed some signs of difficulty in those areas during the Baku weekend. The gap generally narrowed somewhat in race conditions, but on a circuit with these characteristics it remained substantial enough for Charles Leclerc to conclude that fourth place was the best result available.
Charles Leclerc’s race did not begin ideally either. Starting from the dirtier side of the grid, he immediately lost a position to Oscar Piastri. During the opening laps, it also became clear that McLaren had enough pace to pull away and defend its position on the straights. As the race developed, Ferrari’s pace deficit became increasingly apparent, with Charles Leclerc eventually also being overtaken by both Red Bull cars.
“It was a bit of a boring race for us. Unfortunately, we had a bad start, which is the only thing we could have done much better. Today we lost one position to Oscar. But then, from that moment onwards, we simply didn’t have the pace,” Charles Leclerc said after the race.
“Compared to Red Bull, it was very difficult to defend because we are too slow on the straights. And yes, at the moment we are simply struggling with pure pace,” the Ferrari driver added.
The comparison with Red Bull was particularly significant because straight-line speed has not generally been the RB22’s defining strength. Instead, it also drew attention towards Ferrari’s performance through sector two.
Ferrari’s cornering advantage is beginning to disappear
The RB22 has consistently been competitive on circuits featuring slow corners and repeated acceleration zones, and that characteristic was evident again in Baku. Through sector two, Red Bull was the only team capable of putting Mercedes under real pressure.
This is where a deeper concern emerges for Ferrari. As Charles Leclerc explained, the rivals are now getting closer to — and in some cases moving ahead of — the SF-26 in cornering performance. The trend was also visible in the Baku telemetry comparison of Ferrari’s diminishing cornering advantage.
With Ferrari unable to rely on a power unit matching its rivals in every area, the SF-26’s main defensive weapon had traditionally been its strength through the corners. Recent upgrade packages from rival teams, however, have gradually reduced that advantage.
The pattern had already appeared in Hungary, Zandvoort and Madrid, particularly against McLaren through medium and high-speed corners. The advantage Ferrari previously enjoyed in certain types of corners has progressively faded.
Ferrari, like several teams, also struggled to bring the tyres into the correct operating window in Baku. For the Maranello team, however, the issue appeared even more pronounced because the SF-26 is particularly sensitive in its relationship with the tyres. Ferrari’s broader difficulties with the car’s operating window and stiffness had also raised questions over whether the team had taken the wrong setup direction during the Baku weekend.
Charles Leclerc: McLaren and Red Bull have taken a step Ferrari has not
“I don’t think this track particularly suits our car. But it is also true that I think McLaren and Red Bull have taken a step forward with the upgrades they are bringing, and they have improved recently. They have taken a step forward that we haven’t,” Charles Leclerc explained.
The concern is therefore not simply that Baku exposed characteristics that did not suit Ferrari. Charles Leclerc believes the opposition has actively improved while the Scuderia has not made an equivalent step, allowing McLaren and Red Bull to close the gap in areas where the SF-26 had previously been stronger. The changing competitive picture can also be followed through the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals statistics.
“We need to react, because losing a little bit of pace now obviously makes it very difficult to recover it afterwards. So yes, hopefully we can react very soon.”
Speaking to Sky, Charles Leclerc again stressed that Ferrari’s rivals are now reaching the Scuderia in the corners. In his view, the situation requires work rather than patience, because allowing the deficit to grow would make recovering that performance increasingly difficult later.
Ferrari has new developments coming
Ferrari is expected to introduce new developments after the current triple-header for the final part of the season. The hope is that those changes can provide the step required to respond to McLaren’s progress and strengthen the SF-26’s competitiveness.
“We have some things coming. Whether they will be enough to close the gap, without knowing what the others have in store, is another matter. But we definitely have some new things that should help us make steps forward,” Charles Leclerc concluded.
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