Can Charles Leclerc produce more Baku magic this weekend? Azerbaijan GP talking points

More Leclerc magic in Baku?

When it comes to the Baku City Circuit, there’s no driver more capable of delivering an on-the-limits lap than Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc has consistently produced magical laps in Azerbaijan.

The Ferrari driver is unbeaten in qualifying since 2021, taking four consecutive pole positions.

Without his crash in 2019, it’s likely Leclerc would have stormed to pole position in Baku on his Ferrari debut.

Despite his remarkable run of pole positions, Leclerc has yet to stand on the top step of the podium in Azerbaijan.

In 2021, Leclerc’s Ferrari was far from the class of the field, dropping off the podium on race day.

A reliability issue meant he was forced to retire in 2022, but it’s likely Max Verstappen would have won regardless.

Similarly, in 2023, Ferrari’s challenger struggled over a race distance, meaning Leclerc dropped to third.

2024 was his best shot yet, but he was caught off guard by Oscar Piastri, who performed one of the best overtakes of the season.

Assessing his chances in Baku this weekend, Leclerc said at Monza:

Will McLaren clinch the constructors’ title?

McLaren could secure the F1 constructors’ title this weekend in Baku.

After 16 rounds, McLaren are an astonishing 337 points ahead of Ferrari.

With eight rounds to go, there are 389 points still up for grabs this season.

So quite simply, if McLaren take a 1-2 on Sunday, they will be constructors’ champions for the 10th time in their history.

It would move them ahead of Williams in the all-time record books, six titles behind Ferrari.

Which F1 team has the most constructors’ titles?

Ferrari - 16

Williams & McLaren - 9

Mercedes - 8

Lotus - 7

Red Bull - 6

Red Bull momentum

Red Bull returned to winning ways last time out at the Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen stormed to pole position before winning the race by over 19 seconds.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Red Bull, given Monza was arguably their weakest race of Verstappen’s 2024 title-winning campaign.

Verstappen credited a setup gamble by opting to run incredibly low downforce, maximising Red Bull’s Monza-spec rear wing.

The Dutchman is nearly 100 points off Oscar Piastri in the title race, so a fifth title is unlikely.

However, Verstappen will continue to have a say on which McLaren driver comes away with the title.

Last year’s Azerbaijan GP was Verstappen’s worst of the year, as he was comprehensively outpaced by teammate Sergio Perez.

If Verstappen is fighting at the front again, it will be a good sign for Red Bull heading into the final flyaway races.

Ban-watch for Bearman

Haas F1 driver Ollie Bearman moved to within two penalty points of a race ban after the Italian GP.

Bearman picked up two penalty points for an incident with Carlos Sainz at the chicane.

2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg was perplexed that Bearman was blamed for the incident.

“Carlos Sainz needs to be penalized. Bearman had half a car in front of him, it wasn’t just the wing,” Rosberg said.

“Why didn’t he leave space? It was an avoidable move!”

Ironically, Bearman replaced Kevin Magnussen in Baku after the Dane had to serve a one-race suspension last year.

Bearman will have to be on his best behaviour to avoid a race ban in his rookie season.