Friendly track
Even in today’s highly technological Formula 1, there are certain situations and tracks where the driver’s skill makes all the difference. Every F1 driver has their favorite circuits, the ones where they can fully unleash their potential. For Charles Leclerc, one of these is undoubtedly the 6.003-kilometre Baku City Circuit. In reality, the Monegasque has never won in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as an F1 driver, partly due to unlucky circumstances, but this year he managed to secure his fourth consecutive pole position on the Azeri track.
Among the best
With this fourth pole, Charles Leclerc has joined the ranks of the ‘greats’ in qualifying on a single track. In Formula 1 history, only eight other drivers, besides the #16 Ferrari driver, have managed to claim at least four consecutive poles at the same Grand Prix, and the names are significant: Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen are the others who have reached four. Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna have gone even further: the German secured five consecutive pole positions in Spain and Japan, the Briton reached six in Australia, and the Brazilian legend achieved seven straight pole positions at Imola, in the San Marino GP.
Curse to break
Charles Leclerc finds himself in elite company, and in 12 months he will have the chance to improve his score even more. But for now, he must break the curse of never having won at Baku: in the 20 previous instances where a driver has claimed at least four consecutive poles at the same GP, at least one of those poles has always turned into a victory.
