Charles: “I like the track but I don’t feel we’re the favourites”

Charles Leclerc was all smiles when he met the media in the Baku City Circuit paddock at what is one of his favourite tracks. “Just like every street circuit, this is also one of my favourites,” he said. “Let’s hope we can maintain the good form we showed in Monza a fortnight ago, but we know it’s best not to make any predictions, at least until after we have been on track for free practice.”

Prepared to take risks. The Monegasque went on to explain why he loves driving between the walls so much. “There’s an element of risk that I find very intriguing. You have to gain confidence little by little, doing as many laps as possible to find the limit, which means taking into consideration the characteristics of the track surface, the car and the general state of the track,” he explained. “It’s a stimulating and gradual process, which usually means you get more and more confident. Our car would seem to be suited to this track, but it’s impossible to say if we’ll be ahead or behind before we see what our competitors’ pace is like. Once again, we must concentrate on ourselves and on how we execute the whole weekend. If we can maintain the level we demonstrated in Zandvoort and Monza, I expect us to be competitive.”

Looking ahead. Charles then spoke about what he expected over the final part of the season. “Once again, a lot will depend on us and how we tackle the rest of the season, race by race. I think we have the right mentality in the team at the moment and we have to continue like this. With so many cars at the same level, honestly, there is still everything to play for.”