Ferrari: Charles Leclerc concedes Baku setback and limited chances of wins in 2025 F1 season. Charles Leclerc revealed an engine issue on his SF-25 during the Azerbaijan GP.

Charles Leclerc held back by engine issue, says goodbye to victory hopes

Charles Leclerc has taken responsibility for his disappointing result in Baku and revealed an engine issue on his Ferrari. After Monza, he had expected Azerbaijan to be one of the races where he could fight for victory. Instead, Ferrari struggled through a difficult qualifying and a race in which the Monegasque driver was hampered by a problem with his SF-25’s power unit.

Charles Leclerc frustrated and self-critical in Baku

Appearing visibly disappointed in front of the media, Charles Leclerc explained the reasons behind his poor result in Azerbaijan. “I think it would be wrong to judge the car’s potential based on a race like this. We started too far back because of me, and I already said that on the radio. Unfortunately, these things happen. This season, I believe I’ve always given my best, except for this weekend,” the Monegasque said.

Charles Leclerc also confirmed that he had encountered a technical problem, backing up what Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur had stated. “We struggled in the first stint because we had an issue with the power unit, which later disappeared. We were missing something and we still don’t know why the engine started working again. In any case, we didn’t have enough pace, because the rhythm wasn’t great. But I repeat, the race result was largely due to yesterday’s qualifying.”

Chances of a victory this season

Charles Leclerc then addressed his chances of scoring at least one win before the end of the year. “It will be very difficult to win. If there’s a surprise, I would be very happy, but for now, that’s the situation,” he concluded.