Charles Leclerc is disillusioned after Baku: Ferrari is currently lacking pace, whilst Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes are pulling ahead
Charles Leclerc finished the Baku Grand Prix in fourth place – and in doing so, delivered a sobering assessment of Ferrari’s performance. Starting from second on the grid, the Monegasque driver initially lost a position to Oscar Piastri. According to Leclerc, the Scuderia subsequently lacked the pace to put Red Bull and Mercedes under serious pressure.
“It was a bit of a boring race for us. Unfortunately, we had a poor start, which was probably the only thing we could have done significantly better today,” said Leclerc after the race. He added that Ferrari simply didn’t have enough speed afterwards.
Leclerc fell behind Red Bull, particularly on the straights. “Compared to the Red Bull, it was very difficult to defend because we’re too slow on the straights,” explained the Ferrari driver. However, in his view, the problems are not limited to top speed. He added that their pace through the corners is currently not on a par with the competition either.
Ferrari loses ground to Red Bull and McLaren
Leclerc therefore does not expect Baku to have been merely a one-off blip. Whilst the street circuit did not particularly suit Ferrari, he also sees a clear step forward in development from the competition. “I don’t think this track suits our car particularly well. But it’s also true that McLaren and Red Bull have taken a step forward with the upgrades they’ve brought.”
That is precisely where Leclerc currently sees a development gap. “They’ve made progress recently. They’ve taken a step that we haven’t. And we need to respond, because if we lose a bit of pace now, it will of course always be very difficult to regain that pace later on.”
Ferrari must therefore respond as quickly as possible. Leclerc confirms that further developments are already planned. “We’ve got a few things coming. Whether that will be enough to close the gap is another matter, because we don’t know what the others still have up their sleeves.” However, the upcoming updates should at least help Ferrari to take “a few steps forward”.
Leclerc: “We no longer have the best chassis”
Given the circumstances, Leclerc considers his own fourth place to be the best possible result. Without Piastri’s mistake, however, he would have expected a bit more. “Without Oscar’s mistake, I’d probably have said that, had it not been for the poor start, Oscar might have been within reach,” he explains.
However, Ferrari was simply too slow against the two Red Bulls. George Russell in the Mercedes was also “too strong”. Leclerc thus confirms that Ferrari not only had a problem with acceleration and top speed, but also struggled with race pace overall.
When asked whether his fears regarding a lack of speed on the straights had come true, Leclerc replied quite clearly: “Yes, I think the speed on the straights, but not only that. Compared to a Red Bull, the race pace simply wasn’t there, and compared to the Mercedes, it definitely wasn’t either.”
Ferrari must step up its development pace
At McLaren, by contrast, the picture fluctuated more. However, Ferrari fell further behind due to its poor start. “The McLaren was up one minute, down the next, but we had a poor start which, unfortunately, dictated the rest of our race,” said Leclerc.
The Ferrari had gone into the Grand Prix with significantly higher expectations following second place in qualifying. Leclerc is understandably disappointed, but wants to assess the situation realistically: “It’s a bit of a shame. After finishing second, I was hopeful, but at the same time we knew it would be a difficult race today.”
Leclerc is even more forthright in his assessment of the current technical situation. Whilst Ferrari can hope for circuits that suit the car better, he says they mustn’t delude themselves. “McLaren and Red Bull have made great strides forward.”
Leclerc also believes that Mercedes is now making progress in terms of cornering speed. In his view, this means a new starting point for Ferrari: “I think Mercedes is also making progress in terms of cornering speed. That’s why we no longer have the best chassis that we had at one point in the season.”