Charles Leclerc would be the clear favourite to win the championship, if he had converted all of his pole positions into wins in 2022.
This year, he has been fastest in six of eight qualifying sessions (including Saturday's session in Baku) while he was second in two of them...
...(after Sergio Perez at Imola and Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia).As a result of Leclerc's Ferrari's fast lap time but more equal performance...
...with the Red Bulls on the race track, the world championship this year is so open and exciting.Ferrari's tyre treatment allows it to reach...
...temperature on a single lap, In comparison with championship leader Verstappen, managing them over a race has been a challenge for Leclerc.
...temperature on a single lap, In comparison with championship leader Verstappen, managing them over a race has been a challenge for Leclerc.
Leclerc is unquestionably the fastest F1 driver over a single lap, putting aside the unique idiosyncrasies of each car's tyre management.
He came close to the barriers on nearly every corner apex and exit in his pole position lap in Baku as he demonstrated pinpoint precision and masterful speed.
Leclerc outpaced his nearest rival in Q3, despite the 4 drivers of the top 2 teams looking close throughout Q1, Q2 and the opening run of Q3. And he did it without...
...the advantage of a slipstream on Baku's long pit straight. As a result, he gained a fraction of a second over Perez in the tighter second sector of the track.
Red Bull earned lap time on the straights, where the RB18's lower drag came to the fore, but Leclerc had time in hand by the time he reached the pit straight...
...after his encounter with the wall earlier in the lap. Front-runners are more difficult to discern impressive lap times than midfielders or backmarkers, and many drivers...
...get the most out of their cars in the same way that Leclerc did on Saturday but still end up several rows down. Russell,
for example, would also be a candidate for F1's best qualifier after he outperformed Hamilton at his past three races and placed Mercedes fifth on Saturday.
Nonetheless, given Leclerc's total dominance this year over all-star teammate Carlos Sainz, and the fact that he was able to achieve the fastest laps throughout...
...the season while dealing with the pressure of a title race, Formula One qualifiers can consider him one of the best. He needs to convert his one-lap pace into victories on Sunday.