Leclerc: Not easy handling "third disappointment in a row" in Baku
Leclerc took pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and was leading the race after an early pitstop under the virtual safety car, before a power unit issue caused him to slow on-track.
Leclerc limped back to the pits and retired from the race, marking his second retirement in the last three races after a turbo and MGU-H failure sidelined him in Spain, again while leading.
The drivers’ championship battle between Leclerc and Red Bull rival Max Verstappen has swung by 80 points in the last five races. Verstappen now leads Leclerc by 34 points, while Sergio Perez now sits second in the standings, 21 points off his Red Bull team-mate.
The DNF meant Leclerc has failed to convert any of his last four pole positions into a race win, with his second place in Miami being the only podium in that spell. As well as suffering two retirements, Leclerc finished fourth in Monaco after struggling with strategy and blue flags.
Speaking after the race in Baku, Leclerc said it was “just as hard” to accept the retirement, and that it felt like a third DNF in a row given the Monaco result.
“It's a third disappointment in a row, and it's not easy,” Leclerc conceded.
“But overall I'm confident that mentally I will be as strong as I was five races ago, when I was leading the championship, at the next race, and the motivation is still there.
“But we need to get on top of those things. And obviously, reliability is something that we need to look into after the last three races.
“As a team, we need to maybe do a step on that.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, limps back to the pit trailing smoke
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Asked by Autosport if he feared for his title chances at the rate he was losing ground to Verstappen,