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Charles Leclerc has four pole positions at the Azerbaijan GP, but the Monegasque could have had five pole positions around the Baku street circuit had he not crashed out in the qualifying session at the track in 2019. He was the pace-setter all weekend long, and infuriated by his mistake, the Ferrari driver went on to claim that he was "stupid" over the radio.
Leclerc made his debut in 2018 and had stunned the paddock with his impressive performances with the Alfa Romeo (now Sauber) 2018. This had earned him a promotion to Ferrari in his sophomore year in the sport.
The Azerbaijan GP was the fourth fixture on the 2019 F1 calendar, and after having a potential win taken away at the Bahrain GP earlier in the year, Leclerc looked set to grab his maiden victory around the streets of Baku. He had topped all the free practice sessions earlier in the weekend and was slated to be on pole position by many.
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His impressive pace continued into the qualifying session as he was at the front of the field in Q1 and was expected to go on to top the following segments. However, he locked his front-left tire heading into the castle section and crashed into the barriers at turn 8.
This left his car impaled and him out of qualifying, leading him to deliver a dejected message over his radio:
"I am stupid. I am stupid... I switch off everything."
On the other hand, Leclerc's earlier run in Q2 had helped him get into Q3 and earn a starting position of ninth, which helped him start the race inside the top-10.
Charles Leclerc asserted he was "useless" after his crash
Charles Leclerc's crash had left him frustrated with himself after showcasing massive potential over the race weekend. This even led him to lambaste himself on social media, as he shared his thoughts on Twitter (now X) back then:
"No excuses. I've been useless. I will push to have a better tomorrow. Sorry to all the people supporting us and even more to the whole team that deserved so much better."
On the other hand, since then, Charles Leclerc has amassed a reputation for being one of the best qualifiers on the grid. This could be showcased through his impressive 27 pole positions in the sport so far.
However, he also has one of the worst pole-to-win ratios, as he has only eight race victories, of which only five have been from pole positions. So, though Leclerc has scored the last four poles at the Azerbaijan GP, he is still in the hunt for a race victory in Baku.
