Charles Leclerc has dedicated his dominant pole position around the Baku Street Circuit to his father, who sadly passed away earlier this week.
The Prema Racing driver was 0.568 seconds clear of second placed Nobuharu Matsushita on Friday afternoon, but the Monegasque driver admitted it has been an emotional time for him following the sad loss of his father, and he thanked him for helping him become the excellent driver he has become.
“A very emotional weekend in general obviously,” said Leclerc. “I want to dedicate this pole to my dad who did everything for me and it’s definitely thanks to him that I did the pole today.
“Coming to the weekend it was quite difficult because I didn’t know what to expect and also in free practice we had this morning the results weren’t great. Eventually, we managed quali really well and I’m quite satisfied with it.”
Leclerc hopes to have some luck during Saturday’s Feature race in Azerbaijan as he looks to return to winning ways after a disappointing home event in Monaco that ended with him retiring from both races.
“The key aspect will be the start and also having a little bit of luck,” admitted Leclerc. “The speed of the car is OK this weekend and I feel good on track but it will be really important to stay at the front and manage our rivals on the straights.”
