Charles Leclerc, who finished third in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, has acknowledged that Red Bull is in a class of its own when it comes to race pace. Leclerc started the race in pole position and maintained his lead over front-row rival Max Verstappen at the start. However, he was unable to hold on to his position as DRS was activated on lap three, and Verstappen overtook him. Sergio Perez followed suit and overtook Leclerc on lap six. Leclerc eventually finished the race 21.217 seconds behind the lead duo.
Despite this, Leclerc expressed satisfaction with the set-up tweaks made by Ferrari in Australia, which have unlocked more pace and carried over to the competitive showing in Azerbaijan. However, he admitted that Red Bull had found something that Ferrari had yet to discover. Leclerc stated that the team is working tirelessly to understand how to improve their race pace.
When asked if he felt the gap to Red Bull was narrowing, Leclerc said that he was feeling better about the team’s performance. However, he was unsure if they had closed the gap significantly, and he believes that they still have a lot of work to do. Leclerc also acknowledged that Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was quick and pushing during the race. He managed to keep Alonso at bay and end the two-time champion’s run of podium finishes.
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