Charles Leclerc raises his hand as he pinpoints where Ferrari's weekend went awry in the F1 Azerbaijan GP

Charles Leclerc believes that his qualifying performance compromised his race despite Ferrari’s prowess on the straights. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, after the 2025 Azerbaijan GP, the Monegasque blamed himself for the frustrating race and underwhelming result.

In qualifying, Leclerc brought out the red flag in Q3 after crashing into the wall. As a result, he started tenth on the grid. Unable to move into the top five despite the pace, he managed only ninth at the finish. Carlos Sainz in a Williams, along with midfield runners such as Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls, both finished ahead of the Ferraris. With just one safety car during the race, strategy and pace management played a significant role in determining the outcome.

Charles Leclerc admitted that his mistake in Q3 placed him on the back foot from the start. He explained that despite Ferrari’s straight-line advantage against slower cars, it was frustrating to be stuck in traffic for most of the race. He concluded that such mistakes cannot be repeated if stronger results are to be achieved.

Asked by Sportskeeda if the race result was disappointing despite Ferrari’s power advantage on the straights, Charles Leclerc said:

“Yeah, yeah, but I, again, I mean, the second part of the race was. I had full power and it still wasn't enough to get past, so it was a very frustrating race, but. Again, I think work should be hard on myself is for yesterday and for today, it's kind of the result of my mistake Q3 yesterday. So I yeah, today was very frustrating, but it was frustrating for a reason and I, yeah, well I shouldn't do this mistake again Q3.”

Leclerc also blamed himself for Ferrari's poor showing in Azerbaijan and said he felt they could have performed better.

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Charles Leclerc blamed himself for not being at an optimal level of performance in Azerbaijan

Charles Leclerc largely blamed himself for the poor result in the Azerbaijan GP, admitting he had not performed at the level he expected throughout the weekend. The Monegasque felt strategy was always going to be a gamble and explained that, despite being on the right approach on paper, he was stuck behind slower cars running the opposite strategy. He spent the majority of the race trying to get past Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull, which proved quicker than expected. Ultimately, Leclerc admitted he paid the price for not driving at his usual competitive level across the weekend.

Asked about his race and the strategy, Charles Leclerc said:

“Yeah, I think it was a bit roll of a dice to get the right strategy today. I mean, the medium hard or hard medium was kind of the same. I mean, it was obviously the same on paper. And then you will just hope that you were with the most amount of fast cars on the same strategy and I ended up with obviously Liam, which was very strong in the straight, very strong in the last sector, very difficult to take."

"Even on the cars that had reverse strategy and I got stuck behind him the whole race. So it was very frustrating, but yeah, good job to him and at the end of the day, the only thing I can do is to be harsh with myself and not having performed the way I have. Yesterday in qualifying, obviously with a mistake in Q3. It's been a very strong season so far, but this weekend I haven't been on the level where I should be, and yeah, and I pay the price of it today,” he added.

Charles Leclerc is currently fifth in the driver’s championship with 165 points, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton in sixth on 121. Ferrari endured a poor team result in Baku, dropping to third in the standings and allowing rivals Mercedes to move up to second with 290 points. The Maranello outfit sits on 286, just 14 clear of Red Bull in fourth on 272. The battle for second in the constructors’ championship remains finely poised, with narrow margins separating all three teams.