28 April 2023 , 15:24
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Max Verstappen declared he will only "have to pass one car" in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he remained bullish about Red Bull's chances despite being pipped to pole by Charles Leclerc.
As always, the Red Bulls were the favourites heading into Friday's qualifying session in Baku. But it was Leclerc who set the fastest time in Q3 as Ferrari finally found something to cheer about after a difficult start to the season.
The Monegasque's one-lap pace has always been one of his strongest weapons and he used it to full effect to take pole in Baku for the third consecutive year. But it will be tough for him to convert that into a win on Sunday, given how much race pace those Red Bull cars have.
And Verstappen seemed to be alluding to that as he gave a nonchalant response to missing out on pole. "It's always tough around here to put the whole lap together. On the second run we tried something different on the out lap which perhaps wasn't ideal for the lap time at the end," said the Dutchman.
"In Q3 you're on the limit and trying to make everything perfect is not the easiest. But we are P2, we know we have a very good race car so all in all it's not bad. You want to start ahead but we'll have to pass one car."
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Leclerc's relief after securing pole was evident as he reacted over the radio. After being told by race engineer Xavi Marcos Pedros that he had gone fastest, he replied: "Come on! Yes, feels good. Amazing job, Xavi. All of the qualifying, management incredible. Thanks for everything guys, the car was really good. It's good to be back on top."
Charles Leclerc was over the moon with his lap (Sky Sports)Speaking on the grid after the session, Leclerc added: "Of course, I am surprised. We came into the weekend thinking it will be a great weekend if we are in front of Aston Martin and Mercedes in qualifying.
"In the end we are on pole, so that's a really good surprise. We must not forget that our race car is still behind the Red Bulls so it will be difficult to keep the lead, but that's the target.
"I'm really happy with the lap. It's going to be a challenging weekend for all of us drivers because there is little time to practice. Only one FP1 and then you need to be straight on it. But the feeling was good from the start, so I'm really happy."