It’s hard to believe that the roll-call of grand prix winners around the Baku City Circuit, including Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas, does not feature the driver who now has four pole positions in Azerbaijan to his name.
Charles Leclerc will lead the field away on Sunday’s formation lap for the fourth consecutive year, still in pursuit of his first victory in Baku.
The Ferrari driver’s confidence is as high as it has been all season, having beaten the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to the chequered flag last time out in Monza. And with Norris well down the grid following a poorly-timed yellow flag in Q1, Leclerc only has one McLaren to concern himself with on Sunday. Especially as the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are fourth and sixth, respectively.
Although Leclerc has started from pole twice in 2024, this is only his second pole of the year earned by being the fastest in qualifying after Monaco – which he won. Given that Ferrari has tended to be stronger in race trim than qualifying, the pole winner is naturally feeling good heading into Sunday.
“I didn’t do a lap with high fuel, but it’s been a pretty strong point of the car this year,” Leclerc said after qualifying. “So I am not worried going into tomorrow’s race, but obviously we need to do things right.
“I’ll have to do a bit of homework tonight in order to get ready for tomorrow, 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 tomorrow or not.”
If he is able to win, there’s more than just a victory in the offering for him. Should Leclerc win and Norris fail to score a point, he will jump the McLaren driver to become the closest driver to Verstappen in the championship.
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Weather
Drivers will have plenty to concern themselves with over the course of Sunday’s race. However, rain will not be something they need to worry about.
As expected heading into the weekend, there is virtually zero risk of rain expected for the race, with bright, sunny skies likely to be overhead. Ambient temperatures around 26C means conditions for the race will be similar to that in qualifying.
The only difference, potentially, is higher winds. Southerly gusts of up to 42kph are predicted during the race, which could add an extra layer of…
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