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Red Bull in “another league” with Baku F1 1-2
Qualifying winner Leclerc on Friday and Saturday started the race cleanly holding front-row rival Verstappen at Turn 1.
However, the Ferrari driver was vulnerable as he activated DRS at the start of the third lap of lap 51, and the chasing defending champions cut a 0.4-second gap before using the overtaking assist to cross the finish line.
The submissive Leclerc was then knocked out to his eventual third place at the start of lap six, with Victor Perez doing a similar thing with his team-mate, activating DRS on the inside going into Turn 1 overtake.
As Perez and Verstappen pushed each other in the battle for victory, Leclerc was 21.217 seconds behind the leading duo, although he was 0.8 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Fernando Alonso.
The gap led Leclerc to declare that Red Bull was still in “another league” for Ferrari in terms of race pace, with Monaco ceding the lead to Perez in Saturday’s sprint race.
Leclerc said: “(Red Bull) are in another league in the race.
“More than 51 laps, it’s impossible. They race much faster than us.
“I think they found something that we haven’t found. That’s what we’re focusing on at the moment, everyone is giving it their all and trying to understand what we can do in the game, especially to get better performances. “
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures
However, Leclerc did take some solace from the tweaks Ferrari made in Australia, which have unleashed more speed and carried over to the competitive performance in Azerbaijan.
Asked if he felt the gap to Red Bull was closing, he said: “Honestly, it feels a little bit better. But when I see the gap, I’m pretty sure when you have that gap, you probably don’t. 100% effort.
“We don’t really know how much we’ve closed the gap. It feels a little bit better.
“But again, Aston Martin is also very fast. Today. So we have a lot of work to do.”
After stopping Aston Martin’s Alonso from ending his race for the two-time champion’s podium in 2023, Leclerc added: “He’s working hard.
“I knew his intentions from the start because he always does it, trying to hold the tires at the start of the pit stop and push at the end. So, I tried to do the same.
“In the end, it was close, but it wasn’t enough for Fernando today.”
Hamilton’s current deal with Mercedes expires at the end of the season, fueling traditional speculation that the 38-year-old is rejoining the team that helped him win six of his seven world titles , will still withdraw from the series.
It even sparked wild speculation about a possible move to Ferrari, which was quickly refuted by all parties.
Both Hamilton and Wolff have often said they could hammer out a new deal without too much difficulty, and after Sunday’s Spanish GP, Hamilton gave his firmest hint yet that a renewal was imminent.
Asked in his post-race press conference if a new deal was in the works, Hamilton laughed and said: “Well, I haven’t signed anything yet, but I think we’ll meet Toto tomorrow. So hopefully, We can accomplish some things.”
Hamilton’s words were echoed by Wolff when he was asked by Sky Sports F1 when Hamilton’s new deal would be reached.
“I think we just need to find time to sit down and have a cup of coffee. It will take half an hour,” he said.
Hamilton believes his Mercedes contract situation has had no impact on his performances, but admits it will be easier for him and the team to focus on challenging Red Bull in 2024 once the deal is over.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, second, interview with Nico Rosberg after race
Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures
“Well, you can see today: my grades, my performances are not affected by that,” Hamilton explained.
“I think it’s always in the back of your mind, so once that’s done, you can focus more on the future.
“But as I said, I’m trying to work as hard as I can with this team. I see so much power in a team and I think they’re still very hungry.
“Today’s podium was truly special; the excitement of seeing all the people I’ve worked with in such a short time.
“When we go back now, there will be energy in the office. But these people don’t take two seconds to enjoy themselves and be happy.
“Then they’ll go back to the books and try to figure out how we can win the next game. That’s what I love about them.”
While Max Verstappen took the lead from start to finish at the Spanish Grand Prix almost as a matter of course, Sunday was more taxing for Sergio Perez. Christian Horner praised the Mexican for his fourth-place finish and hopes he can take the pressure off a bit now.
Christian Horner’s face beams with pride after the Spanish GP. Not without reason: Max Verstappen won in very dominant fashion. The Red Bull team boss realizes life is pretty good for his team at the moment.
New Mercedes F1 deal could be signed “tomorrow”
Horner sees big gap between Verstappen and Perez: 'Hopefully less pressure now'
Proud Horner after Verstappen victory: 'He dealt with it beautifully'
Aston “didn’t have the pace” in Barcelona F1 race
Alonso after a sour home race: ‘I’m not worried’
Q2 off left Perez “unsettled” ahead of final F1 qualifying run
Charles Leclerc starts from the pit lane
Red Bull played it safe: "Just in case Lewis pulled something out the bag"
Perez defeated after 'calamitous' performance: 'Verstappen pearless to P1'
Provisional starting grid Spanish GP | Verstappen lonely at the top
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