2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku, June 04 - 06

[nani_s23]

Charles Lec 9 pole positions vs Max 4 pole positions

[Forza Rosso]

Yeah I know , whatever happens it's never enough !
I have followed Ferrari since 1981 , first Gilles and then the team.
Besides 1986 , 1992 and last year we were always in the mix , some way or another.
What other team besides ( Perhaps ) Mclaren can say that ?

[Forza Rosso]

There are plenty of cry babies here as well. Just look at some posts....back to back pole and they're still crying.

Yeah I know , whatever happens it's never enough !
I have followed Ferrari since 1981 , first Gilles and then the team.
Besides 1986 , 1992 and last year we were always in the mix , some way or another.
What other team besides ( Perhaps ) Mclaren can say that ?

[Jax]

anyone has top speed numbers ?

[Jax]

Also can't help but think that they have found a sweet spot with the setup from Monaco onwards

[FerrariF60]

Also can't help but think that they have found a sweet spot with the setup from Monaco onwards

maybe they found a sweet spot for quali set up as well as we ran with a lot LESS REAR WING to give us some top speed.....but clearly we seem to chew the tires more in race pace compared to red bull and Merc....not to mention that we;ll be sitting ducks tomorrow since our engine is lacking 20hp or so, so merc and red bull will breeze past us.....i KNOW ITS SAD....but dont' you believe that just because we got pole ( due to huge tow Charles got) we'll also gonna be winnign hte race on pure pace.....because i'ts gonna be a rude awakening for you.....

i'll be happy if we finish 3rd tomorrow.....i'm just being realistic here....

[Ferrarichamp]

is our engine really down 20hp though, maybe the deficit is smaller.

[Greig]

Norris got 3 place penalty, we should be ahead of McLaren by the end of the race hopefully

[FerrariF60]

Norris got 3 place penalty, we should be ahead of McLaren by the end of the race hopefully

fingers crossed Greig.....after all, we have to be realistic....this season we'll fighting Mclaren and NOT red bull or Merc as to what some think due to last 2 quali we had due to the nature of the tracks.....we stil lack 20hp or so.....that is a lot in F1

[jgonzalesm6]

YES BABY. BACK 2 BACK POLE. LECLERC THE FASTEST MAN IN F1

agreed. He certainly does'nt have the fastest car in F1 come race day......track specific of course.

[tpe]

Let's wait.
We need to have a clean start for both drivers and then we will see.
Ferrari is really good in S2, so, maybe, just maybe we can get the necessary distance from other cars and avoid the "eat you alive" thing from Merc and RB.
I don't think that we will win (under normal circumstances), but we can hope for a good result!

[The Architect]

So strange to hear how our cars have good mechanical grip. That hasn't been the case for so many many years... Whatever we're doing, I hope it carries into next year.

[nikola0406]

maybe they found a sweet spot for quali set up as well as we ran with a lot LESS REAR WING to give us some top speed.....but clearly we seem to chew the tires more in race pace compared to red bull and Merc....not to mention that we;ll be sitting ducks tomorrow since our engine is lacking 20hp or so, so merc and red bull will breeze past us.....i KNOW ITS SAD....but dont' you believe that just because we got pole ( due to huge tow Charles got) we'll also gonna be winnign hte race on pure pace.....because i'ts gonna be a rude awakening for you.....

i'll be happy if we finish 3rd tomorrow.....i'm just being realistic here....

What tow? I have just watched onboard lap, and there was no tow what so ever. He has made two huge mistakes by the way.

[wisepie]

Charles deserved that pole after the Monaco mess, a well-judged tow from HAM and bingo, pole. The long straight and DRS will probably end any dream of keeping P1 but we live in hope of a podium and some good points from both Charlies. Hope Carlos doesn't have any damage lurking after his crash. Forza ragazzi.

[nikola0406]

Just because Hamilton fan boy from SkyF1 said that there was a tow, doesn't mean that there was one. He was to far ahead.

[SilverSpeed]

Charles Lec 9 pole positions vs Max 4 pole positions

[nani_s23]

Yup … I rate leclerc above all. He’s faster than max, I feel max is overaggressive at times.
Leclerc is balanced.

[nani_s23]

I’ve seen leclerc pole Lap once again. It’s not near a perfect lap, there was more in S2.
Sainz was also on a good lap. Unfortunately there was a crash.

2019 leclerc was a pole candidate. He balanced it this year

[Rishu]

Sad to see no one mentioning Binotto. Guy takes plenty of slack here whenever we don’t do well, while drivers take credit when things are opposite

[Alonsomaniac]

Just because Hamilton fan boy from SkyF1 said that there was a tow, doesn't mean that there was one. He was to far ahead.

There was definitely a tow Charles said.

[wisepie]

Sad to see no one mentioning Binotto. Guy takes plenty of slack here whenever we don’t do well, while drivers take credit when things are opposite

That's true, but there is reorganisation going on in the team structure (see news/rumours thread) regarding Meikles and Ineda's roles in the team which appear to be positive, and things are definitely improving. Anyone know if Carlos has any gearbox or other damage after his crash in Baku Q3?

[Riccardog]

sad pathetic bbc.... the headline ... pole because the other Ferrari caused red flag.... I see they changed it since but.... what were they trying to say.... just pathetic, and puerile.

[Alonsomaniac]

Both Hamilton and Verstappen are in an awkward position now. They both want to win the race, but they also both can not take any risks with Leclerc. A DNF would be very costly for both Hamilton and Verstappen concerning the championship if the other guy scores a lot of points. Leclerc can simply race for the win and he can easily be quite aggressive in defending because the other two can not afford a collision.
I'm not saying Leclerc WILL actually win this race, but he can make it very interesting to watch.

[Alonsomaniac]

sad pathetic bbc.... the headline ... pole because the other Ferrari caused red flag.... I see they changed it since but.... what were they trying to say.... just pathetic, and puerile.

Oh yes, have read that stuff on Dutch sites too. Some even said Sainz did it on purpose to save the pole for Leclerc. They forgot that Tsunoda was already causing the red flag........

[Cavallino]

Let's wait.
We need to have a clean start for both drivers and then we will see.
Ferrari is really good in S2, so, maybe, just maybe we can get the necessary distance from other cars and avoid the "eat you alive" thing from Merc and RB.
I don't think that we will win (under normal circumstances), but we can hope for a good result!

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't Charles' tyres he will start the race with one lap fresher than Max or Ham? That could help with our tyre wear issues. And maybe, just maybe, Charles can pull out enough of a gap in Sector 2 to stay out of DRS. And then maybe pit at exactly the right time with the 1 lap advantage he has. Or maybe a safety car, or maybe something happens between Max and Ham.

Anything can happen. But if Charles pulls it off completely on merit, then it will be one of the best drives in F1 history.

[tifosi1993]

Just because Hamilton fan boy from SkyF1 said that there was a tow, doesn't mean that there was one. He was to far ahead.

Ham got even bigger tow from his faithful butler. But of course, those ***** at SkyF1 going to ignore that.

[Rob]

Baku, 5 June 2021 – For the second race in a row, Charles Leclerc has secured pole position and tomorrow at 16 local (14 CET), he will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the head of the field. It was the Monegasque’s ninth career pole and Scuderia Ferrari’s 230th, its second at Baku, to add to Sebastian Vettel’s in 2018.

Unlucky Carlos. Unfortunately, Carlos Sainz was rather unlucky and will start from fifth on the grid, even though he clearly showed the potential to have secured a place on the front two rows. After all the drivers had set a time in Q3, the second runs had to be aborted as the red flag came out after Yuki Tsunoda crashed into the barrier at turn 3. At the time, Charles was on a quicker lap than his first and so too was Carlos. The session did not resume and Leclerc was thus guaranteed pole, but it also meant Sainz was unable to improve on fifth, just 13 thousandths slower than third placed Max Verstappen and 11 behind Pierre Gasly in fourth. The Spaniard also ended up in the barrier at turn 3, caught off guard by the Japanese driver’s crash.

Clear goal. A fantastic pole for Charles and a great team result does not change the Scuderia’s goal for tomorrow nor indeed for the rest of the season, which is to bring home as many points as possible to head the group chasing the two teams currently leading the championship.

Charles Leclerc #16
I am very happy. I tried to take things step by step and only push in Q3 today. It seems to have worked out pretty well. I had good references – I knew where I could gain and where I could push more, and that’s what I did.
After the first lap, I was reasonably happy but I did lose quite a bit at turns 4-5-6. On the second timed lap I was quite a lot stronger, but then the session was stopped by the red flag. But it’s pole anyway, so I am very happy with that.
Our race pace is not as strong as that of our competitors ahead of us in the championship, so I believe it will be very difficult to keep them behind in the race. The straights are very long here, and it is easy to overtake. We will give everything, and hopefully we can have another positive surprise tomorrow.

Carlos Sainz #55
A very frustrating qualifying for me again today. I am disappointed we couldn’t extract all the potential of the car due to the circumstances. I was improving my lap time on the last attempt when the AlphaTauri crashed in front of me. I saw the smoke from the lock up but hoped he had continued. When I saw the crash it was too late and I ended up touching the barriers. At these speeds, the outcome could have been much worse, but the car seems to be ok.
On the positive side, our pace was strong, even more than we expected before coming to Baku. Congrats to Charles for putting it on pole. Overall it’s a great result for the team. Now we’ll start preparing for the race and I will do my absolute best to recover tomorrow.

Laurent Mekies Racing Director
Another pole for Charles, which was even more unexpected than the one two weeks ago in Monaco. We arrived in Baku believing that this would be a much more complicated weekend than the last race, but in fact our performance level was better than expected right from the start of practice, even though theoretically this track should be less suited to our car.
The team and the drivers did a great job over these past two days, improving the car for every session. Our qualifying performance, the best of any team if you look at the pair of results, is a fitting reward for that.
Carlos’ crash? He was caught off guard by the smoke from Tsunoda ahead of him. These things happen and anyway, it didn’t affect his result given that, because of the yellow flags, he would have had to slow down at that point on the track.
We can expect a very tough race tomorrow. Pole is not as important here as in Monaco, given that overtaking is commonplace. Yesterday, we saw that Red Bull and Mercedes were very quick over a long run. Tyre degradation will be a key factor, especially in the first stint. We will have to be ready for any eventuality, given that this race usually has all sorts of unexpected twists and turns.

[jgonzalesm6]

Ham got even bigger tow from his faithful butler. But of course, those ***** at SkyF1 going to ignore that.

yep.

Lewis "Love conquers all"......"to all you children out there, anything is possible.".......please.

[nani_s23]

Sad to see no one mentioning Binotto. Guy takes plenty of slack here whenever we don’t do well, while drivers take credit when things are opposite

Last year it was horrible, because of engine issue saga. The criticism which he received is justifiable.
Big hit for Ferrari reputation. This year car is still not perfect at all, it’s leclerc who’s doing the talking & keeping the Ferrari hope alive.

Now ferrari is counting on next year, as they have given away 2years for that. Hope it is fruitful. Then everyone will appreciate him for his job.

[Cavallino]

yep.

Lewis "Love conquers all"......"to all you children out there, anything is possible.".......please.

Yep, just saw that Lewis definitely got a better tow than Charles. What crap from Sky, first their insistence last race that Max would have been on pole, now their fake news about the tow.