At the end of the race, Leclerc took his first pole of the season – his 19th in F1 – with a time of 1:40.203, beating Red Bull’s Max Vesta Pan and Sergio Perez.

Leclerc admitted he was surprised to beat the RB19 team leaders, but explained that the team had laid a lot of groundwork at the Australian GP weekend.

Despite Ferrari’s failure to score at Albert Park, the team’s tough start to the year has been strong thanks to Leclerc’s early retirement and Carlos Sainz’s penalty for a clash with Fernando Alonso’s final restart. Its SF-23 has come a long way.

Leclerc added that he felt that most of Ferrari’s problems in Australia were of his own making, overshadowing the advantage the team had gained in the previous round.

“For sure, I think we took a step forward in Australia; on my side, I obviously couldn’t show it, but on Carlos’ side, I think the feeling in the game was much better.

“Then we still need to see on Sunday how good (we are in the game). So I think at this point, we still have some question marks, but I am absolutely sure that we have made some steps in the right direction. I “I’m not sure it’s enough (to beat Red Bull).

“I think a good step has been taken in terms of setup. Qualifying has not been that bad since the start of the season.

“I think in Australia, we didn’t do well, I don’t think I drove well. Before that, we weren’t that far, so I think we made some progress in qualifying.

Polish Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, in Parc Ferme

Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures

“I wish the game was more in the game, but we were a lot behind in the game as well. But I think it’s mostly the setup.”

Ferrari “needed” a Formula 1 pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a difficult week for the team, Leclerc added.

Ferrari were hit this week by news of the departure of sporting director Laurent Mekies, who will leave the team at an undisclosed date following Franz Tost’s departure at the end of 2023. , taking over from AlphaTauri as team leader.

Leclerc has previously been rumored to have been in talks with Mercedes over a potential drive from the German manufacturer, a claim he denied on Thursday.

“I mean, it’s good. It feels good. I think the whole team needs it because it’s part of our job that we’re here and I think any team in Formula 1 needs to deal with the rumours, the pressure.

“But obviously in that situation sometimes it’s harder to perform. We’ve done really well, so I think it’s good for the whole team.”