Charles Leclerc gives too much away about Ferrari engine in awkward interview after Azerbaijan GP
Charles Leclerc said more than he should have about Ferrari's engine after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc appears to have shared more information about Ferrari’s engine than the Formula 1 team wanted after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
An amusing and awkward exchange between Leclerc and his press officer was captured during an interview with Sky Italy after Saturday’s dramatic race in Baku.
Leclerc was asked whether his car was fitted with Ferrari’s latest-spec ADUO 2 power unit. When he let slip that this was the case, his press officer was seen looking panicked and shaking her head.
“I had the latest specification,” Leclerc answered, before sharing a brief look at his press officer and adding: "I don’t know if I’m saying something I shouldn’t. But I thought you knew.”
It proved to be another disappointing race for Ferrari as Leclerc’s qualifying promise failed to translate into the grand prix.
Having secured a front-row start alongside George Russell despite being eight tenths adrift of pole position, Leclerc immediately lost a place to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and lacked the pace to challenge the front runners.
Leclerc eventually finished fourth, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton also enduring a difficult afternoon on his way to taking an underwhelming sixth.
The Monegasque insisted that Ferrari need to bring more upgrades in order to close the gap to Mercedes, while the likes of McLaren and Red Bull have made impressive recent gains.
“They were very strong,” Leclerc said of Mercedes. “McLaren were also strong – not maybe as strong as Red Bull, but Red Bull were particularly strong. We know they have a very strong power unit so this is a good race for them, but still.
“We were quite far off Mercedes, far off Red Bull, a bit behind McLaren – these are our competitors and it’s not new. It’s [been] quite a few races now that we’re losing a little bit of track to them, so it's important that we react to that and that we bring upgrades in order to close the gap again.”
Any hopes of Ferrari contending for an F1 world title this year appear to be over, with the Maranello squad 160 points down on Mercedes in the constructors’ world championship.
In the drivers’ standings, Lewis Hamilton remains third but has slipped to 103 points behind championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli and also lost ground to George Russell. Leclerc sits fifth, 20 points behind Hamilton.
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