Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc might have just picked up his team’s first podium finish of the season but he’s clearly far from satisfied. After coming in third place during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix he laid out his feelings about the situation and what his team is aiming for. According to him, there’s a lot of work to do to catch up with Red Bull and Aston Martin.
Despite coming in third, Leclerc called the competition his “loneliest race” ever. Coming in some 21 seconds behind the winner, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, no doubt had something to do with that. Still, he felt like it was “the absolute maximum” achievable result he said afterward. He praised the team too but admitted there is room for improvement.
“(The) strategy was really good, everything was really good but we just don’t have enough pace in the car today to fight with the Red Bulls… and also Aston Martin seems to have a stronger race car than we do. It was a good effort to stay in front of Fernando (Alonso) but at the end, it’s like this. The reality is we have a lot of work to do to be back for the win.”
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While it’s not a victory, it’s far better than the two retirements that Leclerc has suffered already this season. “I’m here to win and obviously second, third, is not what I want,” said Leclerc to Reuters. “Considering the first three races which we’ve had, scoring six points in three races, this weekend is better – we didn’t have any problems, it was a trouble-free weekend.”
On an individual level, the third-place finish put Leclerc into sixth position in the driver standings, tied with Mercedes’ George Russell. Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, sits just ahead of him with 34 points in sole possession of fifth place. Max Verstappen continues to lead the charge with 93 points, five ahead of his own teammate Perez.
Heading into Miami next weekend, Ferrari has a lot of ground to make up in the constructors’ standings. Currently, it sits in fourth place with just 62 points, a far cry from Red Bull which sits in first with 180. We’ll be there on the scene to bring you up-to-date F1 news and results throughout the event.
