'We'll take it back' - Ferrari's Charles Leclerc aiming to regain championship lead ahead of Baku Grand Prix

Updated 11/06/2022 at 11:53 GMT

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc led the way at the start of the 2022 Grand Prix season but as the campaign wore on he has dropped down to second place, behind last year's champion, Red Bull's Max Verstappen. While the Monegasque is confident of getting back in front at some point, he is not certain it will be this weekend.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - GP of Monaco 2022

Image credit: Getty Images

Charles Leclerc hoped to challenge Red Bull after leading the way ahead of the third free practice session.

Leclerc initially led the Formula 1 drivers’ standings but current champion Max Vertsappen of Red Bull has since taken the No. 1 spot. A win could take him top of the leaderboard at the Baku Grand Prix in Azerbaijan this Sunday.

Speaking to Sky Sports before FP3 got underway, Leclerc played down any problems from the first two sessions, having set the fastest time on Friday afternoon.

Azerbaijani Grand Prix

‘He can't act like a pantomime dame’ – ex-F1 driver Watson on Hamilton

15/06/2022 at 10:40

“Actually it was not power units, it was me. I had forgotten I had changed something which obviously made me lose power, but nothing there,” he said.

Asked if he had a good chance of competing, he stated: “I think it will be, we’ve had a good Friday. We improved a lot from FP1 to FP2 but there’s certain steps we need to do from today to tomorrow.

“I also feel that in FP2 nobody really put a lap in, neither did we. Neither Carlos [Sainz] nor Max did, actually, improve on the softs.

“The tire degradation was good and the race pace was very strong, that is good.”

While far from certain about re-establishing himself at the top of the pack on Sunday, he thought there was every chance he could eventually emerge victorious.

“I hope so!” he began. “Whether it will be this week or not, I don’t know. If we do everything perfect, I’m confident we’ll take it back at one point.”

Azerbaijani Grand Prix

‘You're just praying for it to end’ – Hamilton reveals back pain caused by car

12/06/2022 at 21:51

Azerbaijani Grand Prix

Ferrari reliability problems could wreck a promising season for Leclerc

12/06/2022 at 16:34

Azerbaijani Grand Prix

Sainz bemoans 'incredibly unlucky' Ferrari as team principal admits cars are not reliable

12/06/2022 at 13:59

Join 3M+ users on app

Stay up to date with the latest news, results and live sports

Download

Scan me