Charles Leclerc reveals sprint race CHALLENGE after claiming Baku pole

Leclerc in Saudi Arabia — Photo: © LAT Images

Charles Leclerc

Leclerc reveals sprint race CHALLENGE after claiming Baku pole

Charles Leclerc beat the two Red Bulls to pole position in Baku

Harry Smith

Friday 28 April 2023 17:27

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Charles Leclerc shocked everybody on Friday afternoon when he claimed a stunning pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Heading into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend most expected another dosage of Red Bull domination, but Leclerc had other ideas.

The Monegasque driver fended off Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to take his first pole position of the season and his third consecutive pole in Baku.

Back on pole in Baku

Speaking to Mark Webber after the race, Leclerc said: "Ah, for sure I'm surprised. We came into the weekend thinking that it would be a great weekend if we are in front of Aston and Mercedes in qualifying.

Charles Leclerc broke Red Bull's 100% pole position record in 2023

"And at the end, we are on pole, so it's a really good surprise. We must not forget that our race car is maybe still behind the Red Bulls, so it's gonna be difficult to keep the lead.

"But that's the target and really, really happy with the lap. It's a very challenging weekend overall for us drivers because [there is] very little time for us to practice – we only had one FP1 and then you need to be straight on it.

But the feeling was good since the start, so really really happy.

Saturday challenge

Leclerc then went on to talk about the challenges of Saturday's sprint shootout qualifying session.

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"Ah it's gonna be challenging," Leclerc said. "Because we haven't run the medium yet, so tomorrow in qualifying will be the first time. And we need to be on it because we only have one set, so no room for mistakes.

"But again the pace seems strong so hopefully, we can learn in Q1 and Q2 and then push in Q3 and then we know the car is good."