Leclerc: I feel I am quite strong on city tracks

Leclerc, between 2021 and 2024, the seasons when Max Verstappen was dominating the Championship, managed to monopolize pole position for Baku and is hoping to extend his run this weekend.

While McLaren have the dominant car so far in the 2025 Formula 1 season, and while Verstappen is expected to be a contender in Baku following his confidence boost due to his win from pole at Monza, Leclerc will be gunning for pole #5.

Despite his Ferrari's shortcomings, the Monegasque is hoping that he can make the difference at crunch time and said of his Qualifying form at Baku: "It comes naturally.

"I feel I am quite strong normally on city tracks and here; maybe there is something else as well that makes it particularly strong for me. It’s a good feeling to come back here. I know normally that I am strong here.

“However, it doesn’t change my mindset coming into the weekend. It is always the same preparation, and I try not to look too much at the past, but it is definitely a track that I enjoy driving," he insisted.

However, the Ferrari driver is wary of the McLarens and Verstappen this weekend; he added: "McLaren will be the team to beat.

"Red Bull in Monza were very impressive with Max; I think they probably found something and brought new things with the car that made them do a big step forward, so I think they will also be up there with McLaren.

“I think we will be behind them, but it is a track that I particularly like and in which I have been performing particularly well in Qualifying over one lap.

"In the race, it is a bit more difficult to hide the true performance of the car, but we will do our best and see what is possible," Leclerc concluded.

Leclerc has only one pole position so far in 2025, from the Hungarian Grand Prix, which he finished fourth. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)