Charles Leclerc had to abandon the Azerbaijan GP after his Ferrari engine exploded on lap 21. He became the second Ferrari driver to leave the race after Carlos Sainz had a different problem a few laps earlier.
Charles Leclerc had to abandon the Azerbaijan GP after his Ferrari engine exploded on lap 21. He became the second Ferrari driver to leave the race after Carlos Sainz had a different problem a few laps earlier.
The Monaco driver explained that he was mentally "hurt" by a second withdrawal in three races. The double dropout gives Red Bull a big lead in both world championships.
This all comes two weeks after Ferrari's strategic error in Monaco, which cost Leclerc victory on his home streets. Leclerc gave his thoughts speaking to Sky Sports after his retirement.
"It hurts. We really need to look at it so that it doesn't happen again. I really can't find the right words to describe it, it's disappointment. I don't know, we need to look into it," Leclerc said.
The race in Baku is only the eighth race in a 22-event season. Ferrari is already at the limit of the number of power units used and therefore penalties look like they will come later in the year. Leclerc is confused as to why these reliability problems suddenly occurred.
"We were fast, we had no reliability problems in the first part of the season. Now it seems we have a little bit more, but we haven't changed big things. It's hard to understand for now, we will have to analyze. I don't have the full picture at the moment. Just personally, it hurts," Leclerc concluded.