Charles Leclerc “struggling massively” as Baku pole streak ends with Q3 crash

Charles Leclerc admitted he was “struggling massively” at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as his run of four consecutive poles in Baku came to an abrupt end with a Q3 crash.

Leclerc locked up and clattered into the barriers on the right-hand side of Turn 16, bringing an early end to his qualifying session.

The incident means Leclerc will start Sunday’s race no higher than 10th on the grid.

The Baku City Circuit is widely regarded as Leclerc’s best track.

Heading into the weekend, Leclerc had taken four consecutive poles, stretching back to 2021.

Remarkably, he’s been unable to convert any of those poles into victories.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the session, Leclerc explained his difficulties this weekend and how things weren’t 'flowing' for him.

“Oh yeah. Especially for me. I think Lewis was a lot more on the pace straight away and more consistent than I have been during the weekend,” Leclerc explained.

“I have been struggling massively which normally I come to Baku and everything flows pretty naturally but unfortunately this year wasn’t the case.

“I think I understood why and in qualifying I changed the car a lot to try and change the feeling, and the feeling was getting better until we actually put the medium tyres on and everything went [wrong].

“It was very, very difficult the moment we put the medium tyre [on]. For some reason yesterday it felt like the better tyre on our car. Today, it felt like we could never reach the right window with the tyres and that made it very difficult very quickly.”

Can Leclerc recover in the race?

A chaotic qualifying session means the grid order is more mixed up than usual.

Max Verstappen is on pole, but he’s on the front row with Williams’ Carlos Sainz.

Liam Lawson pipped the two Mercedes drivers to secure third.

The McLarens are set to start the race from seventh and ninth respectively.

Assessing his chances in the race, Charles Leclerc added: “There’s opportunity but it’s going to be tough to come back to the front anyway. There’s an opportunity and I will try.

“I will obviously look forward to and hopefully try to have a great Sunday with a disappointing Saturday. Normally, it’s been the other way around when I’ve come here. I am looking forward to turning the situation around.”