Leclerc unfazed over Baku win prospects despite missing long-run data

Charles Leclerc has insisted he is not worried about his long-race pace ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix despite a lack of data.

Leclerc will start the Baku race from pole position after besting McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to the top spot by three-tenths of a second.

It marks the fourth consecutive year that Leclerc has taken pole around the Baku City Circuit.

However, it has not been the smoothest of weekends to date for Leclerc as the Monegasque driver suffered a crash at Turn 15 during FP1.

He has also not yet turned a lap of the track with high fuel – but asserted his confidence in the Ferrari package to execute a strong race.

“I didn’t do a lap with high fuel, but it’s been a pretty strong point of the car this year,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365. 

“So I am not worried going into tomorrow’s race, but obviously we need to do things right. 

“So I’ll have to do a bit of homework in order to get ready, but I’m not too worried that we’ll do the best job with our package and then we’ll see whether it’s good enough to win the race or not.”

Leclerc has joined a shortlist of drivers who have taken four consecutive pole positions at the same venue.

When asked why he performs strongly around Baku, Leclerc said: “I’ve been thinking about it. 

“And obviously, whenever you have a good weekend, you try to analyse. But I don’t really have a strong answer to it. I guess it just goes with my driving style very naturally, because most of the time, you have to work a lot to try and gain lap time. 

“But there, I just feel good with the rhythm of this track for some reason. That makes it a particularly good track for me.”