Charles Leclerc’s championship challenge with Ferrari this year looks more and more like an illusion. His departure from the lead of the Azerbaijani Grand Prix in a cloud of smoke from the engine was not just the second time in three races that the same thing happened. He was also the latest in a string of disappointments to have seen an 80-point swing against him in just five games. “I feel bad, it hurts,” Leclerc said, adding: “It’s more than important. I have no words. It’s just a huge disappointment and I hope we can jump behind it and be on top of it.” Three games this season, Leclerc had two wins and a second place and was first in the title rival Max Verstappen with 46 points. Five games later, Leclerc trailed the Red Bull leader by 34 points – a remarkable 80-point reversal, averaging 16 points lost per game – despite being in pole position for the last four Grand Prix in a row. During this time, in addition to the two engine failures, Leclerc saw his team throw the win in their home game in Monaco with a poor strategy, while his own turn in the final stages of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix turned the third place in sixth. .
Did Leclerc lose another victory in Baku?
Two games ago in Spain, Leclerc seemed on track for a sure win. Monaco was another victory that escaped. Did the same happen on Sunday in Baku? This was less clear. Ferrari’s decision to stop Leclerc for fresh tires under an early virtual safety car put him on an off-set strategy against the Red Bulls. When Verstappen came out of the stop nine laps later, he was just under 13 seconds behind and had 32 laps left. Could Leclerc have gone fast enough for long enough to keep Verstappen away, or was Red Bull ready to catch him and pass him? A second virtual safety car – caused by another Ferrari engine failure, this time in the back of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas – meant it was even harder to fix. How this would have affected the fight, if Leclerc was still in it, is impossible to know. Verstappen said: “It would be a really interesting fight until the end with Charles to see how much we would have caught him, because I think we had a slight rhythm advantage.” Red Bull team leader Christian Horner said he believed Verstappen could catch and pass Leclerc and other teams’ strategy simulations agreed, suggesting he would be close, but Verstappen would have won. Leclerc was not so sure. “We were drivers and I handled the tires well,” he said. “We just had to manage the tires to the end and we were in the best position to do that.” The heat was on as cars and drivers lined up on the grid in Baku
Ferrari’s “concern” goes beyond a lost victory
In the end, it was all academic. And finally, while another departure was a major blow to Leclerc’s hopes for the title, the troubled situation created by Ferrari and Leclerc is potentially even greater concern. Leclerc is now certain to suffer from grid penalties for using too many engine components this season – and the first may well be in Canada this coming weekend. Leclerc has already reached the maximum distribution of three turbochargers this year. A whole new power unit – the second for the year – was installed in his car in Miami, for the fifth race of the season. And after its withdrawal to Spain, which was caused by a failure of the turbocharger and its related hybrid component, the MGU-H, Ferrari gave it its third turbo at the beginning of the Baku weekend. When Ferrari uses a fourth turbo in its car, it will mean an automatic 10-seat penalty. Of the other components that make up a driving unit, Leclerc still has a margin of one before starting a penalty – this time five places. stopped not confirming that this would mean a penalty on the grid there. Whatever happens in Canada, that means Leclerc will inevitably be hit with at least one more engine-related fine below, with two-thirds of the season remaining. Binotto said: “It’s a concern – and even more a concern because I do not have the answer I would like right now about what the problem was. “We will have to install another new engine, it’s a fact. It’s too early in the season. Sometimes the problems you may have are not quick solutions, so I do not know what strategy we should adopt. It is a shorter mileage or different type of use or a short fix because what happened is a short fix? “It’s something we will understand in the coming days and we hope to have a clearer answer by the time we are in Canada.” The meaning of these remarks is strong. Binotto says that while Ferrari has a concern for reliability, they do not know at this stage what the cause is. Not only that, but if there is no short-term correction, they will have to change the way they use their engines. This would happen either by using fewer kilometers – that is, by using more engines, which would mean more penalties – or by running them at a lower efficiency, which would mean a reduction in their competitiveness. Teams are allowed to make changes to their engines for reasons of reliability – and the FIA has approved a number of such requests from Ferrari, experts say. But engine changes have a long delivery time and it is not clear when they will be ready.
What does Verstappen say about all this?
As expected, Verstappen lacked sympathy for his opponent. “This is a fight,” he said. “It simply came to my notice then. It has happened to many people in the past. Unfortunately, that’s happening to Charles. “It has to do with how you get out of it. You look at how to improve things. You learn from it. You do not like it. You are angry, but you turn it around and you always have to stay in it because you never know what else might happen.” Verstappen had his own credibility problems this year, as he pointed out after the match. Leclerc’s huge lead after his last win in Australia in early April was created by the fact that Verstappen had retired from two of the first three games of the season. “We had our misfortune at the beginning of the year,” Verstappen said. “So we knew we had to play a little catch-up, but then, of course, it seems that now it is more or less leveled with bad luck and you have to earn points every weekend if you really want to fight for the championship. “Everyone knows this. Of course everyone tries. But it is not always so easy.” Luck has not leveled enough in terms of reliability. They both had two pensions, yes. But both of Verstappen came when he ran second after Leclerc and his chances of winning were lost. one of the Leclerc cost a certain victory. the other one possible. Leclerc, perhaps considering the two huge changes he has already seen this season, remains optimistic – at least in public – that he can recover. “I’m more than disappointed,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. We have to overcome these things and hopefully we will be strong in Canada. “It’s not easy, but I’ve had some more difficult times in my career. Mentally, I’m going to be there. in the last few games, but we have to get over these things. “ As for Ferrari’s hopes for the title, Binotto said: “It’s not something we are looking at. We are focused on ourselves and try to make the most of the weekends of the games. “We know how to reach the top, there is still a gap. We had some problems in the last tournaments and we are just focusing on trying to improve. “We have another step required at the moment. I would rather have a good performance and try to correct the credibility than vice versa.” And, perhaps thinking of this emerging new engine, he rejected a suggestion that Leclerc needed to win in Canada to bring back the title challenge. “I do not think it’s something you should win at all,” Binotto said. “We will be focused race by race to optimize our capabilities. Today something went wrong. Lesson, try to understand, move on and try to do it as soon as possible. “Reliability is a key element of overall performance. To finish first, you have to finish first and we are not there yet.”
