Verstappen lends Leclerc champion's advice: 'Disappointment is normal, but you learn from it'

The days following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could not have been easy for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari. After suffering their second technical failure in three races, the championship contenders now trail Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 title race. Leclerc is 34 points behind the 2021 champion, while Ferrari is a massive 80 points adrift of its rivals.

For Leclerc, his misfortunes were further compounded when he was overtaken by Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, in the standings, relegating him to third and stuck on 116 points. What was an early-season advantage turned into a horror show for the Reds, and are they in more trouble than meets the eye.

But the drama in Baku is just another in a spate of bad results, which has left Leclerc visibly upset and disappointed in the outcome. Thankfully, Verstappen, relishing the fresh challenge Leclerc is posing in 2022, gave his rival sound advice after another luckless round.

"You know you have to score points every single weekend if you want to really fight for the championship," the defending champion said in a post-race interview. "Everyone knows that. Everyone tries that. But it's not always that easy."

It hurts again. But I’ll never give up. pic.twitter.com/JvTjR09Lm9

'I would also be disappointed'

Verstappen and Red Bull had their fair share of bad luck in 2022. At the season-opening race in Bahrain, both Verstappen and Perez retired with power unit-related issues. In Saudi Arabia, Verstappen won. In Australia, the Dutchman suffered another power unit-related failure.

By the end of the Australian GP, Leclerc had amassed a 46-point lead over Verstappen and it did look as if Ferrari had this season in the bag. The only thing is, as Verstappen puts it: "S***