Azerbaijan GP: Charles Leclerc ‘hurt’ after Ferrari engine failure as Mattia Binotto urges patience

Charles Leclerc retired from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after suffering engine failure on the 20th lap in Baku.

Charles Leclerc has pleaded with Ferrari to solve their engine woes after revealing the “hurt” caused by his latest retirement at Sunday’s Azerbaijan GP.

It was an afternoon to forget for Ferrari as both Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz retired from the race with engine failures, leaving Max Verstappen to lead Sergio Perez to a Red Bull one-two, extending both his and the team’s world championship leads.

For Leclerc, it was a second retirement from the lead with an engine failure in three races, after he called on his team for no more “mistakes” following disappointments in Spain and Monaco.

“It hurts. We really need to look into that for it not to happen again. I can’t really find the right words to describe this,” said Leclerc, who dropped below Perez to third in the world championship standings.

“It’s very, very disappointing. I don’t know, we really need to look into it.”

After taking an early pitstop under the virtual safety car following Sainz’s retirement on lap nine, the Monegasque driver was back up front and battling with Verstappen when disaster struck and a plume of smoke was seeing coming out of his engine on lap 20.

A frustrated Charles Leclerc reflects on a disappointing afternoon at Baku after his car fails to complete the race.

The DNF means Leclerc has been unable to convert four successive pole positions into race wins, becoming the first driver to do that since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2002.

“We’ve been fast, and we didn’t have particularly big problems in the first part of the season,” Leclerc added. “I think we have a bit more compared to the beginning of the season but we didn’t change massive things, if anything we made the thing [car] better.

“It’s difficult to understand for now, we’ll have to analyse it. I don’t have the full picture of what happened today but just personally, again it hurts.”

Binotto: We have to be patient | It may not be a quick fix

Mattia Binotto says although both Ferrari drivers had to pull out in Baku, he is not overly concerned and believes they can move forward for the rest of the season.

It is not only Leclerc who is concerned about the engine problems Ferrari have been suffering, with team principal Mattia Binotto admitting they need to urgently analyse why reliability has become such an issue in the last few races.

“Certainly, it’s a concern, we said it even before coming here to Baku,” Binotto said. “Reliability is always a factor which is a key factor in the battle, as performance is.

“As a team, we pushed a lot through the winter last year to develop the car, we’ve proved that we’re not yet fully reliable, there’s still some work to be done.”

While the Ferrari team will be hopeful the reliability issues can be rectified swiftly, Binotto accepted there may not be any “quick fixes”.

Max Verstappen crosses the finishing line to claim first place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“The team will still be focused, work hard, try to address to issues to make us stronger for the future,” he said.

“At first, we need to understand and analyse what happened today. Not all of the issues are the same, so maybe some are a quick fix?

“I don’t know yet, we’ll need to take some time to analyse, I don’t have the answers yet.

“We need to stay patient, analyse and understand.”

Sainz: We need to stick together

Sainz has struggled to find momentum in 2022, with crashes at both Melbourne and Imola denting his championship hopes, and the Spaniard admitted Sunday’s engine failure has only added to his feeling that his luck is out this season.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was left disappointed after his car’s hydraulics let him down in Azerbaijan.

“Around Turn 3, lap 9 or 10, I don’t remember, the hydraulics went and that was it,” said Sainz.

“It’s a shame because I was taking a lot of care of my tyres in the first nine laps, opening up a bit of a gap and some fresh air in my tyres and I was about to start my race and start pushing towards the front, and as soon as this happened the hydraulics went.

“It was a big shame and a difficult day for the team, but we need to stick together. Better days will come and so far the 2022 season is definitely not going my way.

Sainz, who is still seeking a first career win, remained optimistic that there are “betters days to come” for the team.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix comes to a premature end after his car fails.

He said: “That’s the main objective and the team knows this, that we need to improve on this side, but we have been pretty good on reliability on my side but we have just been a bit unlucky the whole season and it has been quite difficult to get any momentum going this season.

“I cannot do two consecutive races without anything happening and the DNF in lap 9, you need laps and I need laps and to complete races to keep understanding the car.

“It is a shame but we are a team and we are going to stay united and stay positive because I am sure better days will come.”