Charles Leclerc wants to emulate Daniel Ricciardo's 2017 Baku masterclass after F1 qualifying disaster

Charles Leclerc had a disaster during the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying, as he crashed out in the early minutes of Q3. That meant he would be dead last in the group and start P10 on the grid. However, P10 isn't a bad spot on the grid at the Baku City Circuit, considering how Daniel Ricciardo took a legendary victory at the 2017 Azerbaijan GP from that spot.

Leclerc's crash in Q3 on Saturday (September 20) was a result of tricky conditions to maneuver at Baku. The 3.73-mile circuit had strong winds blowing, which caught many drivers off guard, with the run-off areas in different parts of the circuit frequently getting visitors.

However, Charles Leclerc's crash in Q3 was a result of another challenge, a short burst of rain at the start of the session. With reduced tire grip, the Ferrari driver smashed his SF25 in Turn 15, a corner where he's crashed twice in the past. Daniel Ricciardo had a similar fate in the 2017 Azerbaijan qualifying, when he crashed out in Q3 and started 10th on the grid.

In the post-qualifying interviews, Leclerc touched upon this coincidence and how he'd try to replicate the former Red Bull driver's 2017 heroics on Sunday.

"In 2017, Daniel Ricciardo started tenth and won? Well, I'll try too," the Monegasque said via OA Sport. "In any case, we know that Red Bull and McLaren have more than us. Max, starting in front, has a good advantage."

The highlight of Daniel Ricciardo's 2017 masterclass at Baku was a triple overtake down the main straight going into Turn 1, which remains one of F1's most iconic moments. What was even more impressive about that drive was that the Honey Badger had a problem on lap 5 of the race, which required him to come into the pits for repairs. When he came back out, he was in P17.

Thereon, Ricciardo had a flawless race and displayed impressive pace throughout to earn his fifth career win.

Charles Leclerc reflects on "extremely difficult weekend" at Baku after qualifying crash

Charles Leclerc speaks after the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc has had a fantastic track record at Baku. The Ferrari driver started the last four editions of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position and finished on the podium on two of those instances.

Unfortunately, the Monegasque wasn't in the running for a fifth consecutive pole at Baku, with Ferrari visibly struggling in qualifying. Lewis Hamilton failed to make it to Q3 for the fifth time this season, securing P12. While Leclerc made it through to Q3, his final flying lap in Q2 saw him struggle to master the tricky conditions and make some contact with the barriers, albeit not session-ending.

After qualifying, the 27-year-old spoke candidly about his challenging time this weekend, saying (via F1.com) :

"It’s been an extremely difficult weekend overall for me. Normally, Baku is obviously a track I really enjoy driving, but it’s been a bit of a pain from the beginning of the weekend, struggling with the balance of the car."

Charles Leclerc touched upon some pre-qualifying changes Ferrari made on his car, adding:

I changed quite a lot the car going into qualifying, which seemed to be better, but unfortunately, we couldn’t make the medium work anymore. We started to struggle massively in bringing the medium [up] to temperature, then I did this mistake, which obviously cost us a lot. Not much more to add."

Max Verstappen took pole position for the 2025 Azerbaijan GP at the very end of Q3. He outpaced Carlos Sainz, who had taken provisional pole at the start of the session before his former Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc's crash.

McLaren had a terrible outing, with championship leader Oscar Piastri crashing out in the second half of Q3, while teammate Lando Norris could only secure P7.

Edited by Yash Kotak