Charles Leclerc Opens Up About His Biggest Regret After Surprising Change

Charles Leclerc’s Baku pole streak ends after a setup change backfires at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, culminating in a Q3 crash and a power unit issue limiting him to ninth.

The Ferrari driver deviates from his proven baseline for the tight Baku City Circuit, losing rhythm and confidence across practice and qualifying.

An early Q3 error at Turn 15 triggers the crash, ending his run. Grid position suffers, amplifying the penalty at a circuit where passing remains difficult.

Race day compounds the damage. A power unit problem forces management of temperatures and deployment, costing straight-line speed and leaving Leclerc unable to recover meaningful positions.

Team principal Fred Vasseur confirms Ferrari will investigate the power unit to identify the fault and ensure recurrence is prevented before the upcoming flyaway races.

Leclerc accepts responsibility for the setup call, admitting the change undermined qualifying consistency. Attempts to revert late in the session come too late to restore confidence and tyre preparation.

The weekend exposes how narrow the operating window is at Baku, where braking stability into Turn 15 and traction over bumps define lap time and driver confidence.

Strategically, Ferrari pays twice: the compromised qualifying track position, then race pace limited by power delivery. That combination negates any offset strategy or undercut opportunity on a low-degradation Sunday.

The result drops limited points into his season tally. Leclerc remains fifth on 165, chasing McLaren pair Oscar Piastri on 324 and Lando Norris on 299.

Piastri’s weekend headline incidents reinforce the knife-edge nature of Baku’s braking zones, while again underscoring the importance of driver safety equipment in high-energy impacts.

The title picture remains fluid. Max Verstappen stays in contention despite variability, and questions around his long-term alignment with Red Bull continue to shape the competitive narrative.

Off-track, ongoing speculation about Verstappen’s 2026 direction with Red Bull adds background noise as teams optimise development paths under stable regulations.

Leclerc targets a reset before Singapore and the United States rounds, prioritising a return to his established baseline and improved correlation between simulator, practice runs, and qualifying execution.

The lesson is clear: setup deviations can unravel a weekend at Baku, where confidence compounds and errors cascade. Ferrari’s investigation should clarify whether reliability or calibration triggered the power loss.

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Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.