Ferrari endured a miserable day at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as both their drivers failed to finish. Carlos Sainz was the first to retire, while Charles Leclerc was forced to retire because of a power unit issue. To add to their woes, Red Bull capitalized on their mistake and secured a 1-2.

The Monegasque was leading the race before his retirement. And once again, there was no mistake of his own. So, his frustrations are understandable with Ferrari struggling with reliability issues in the recent weeks.

However, in recent years, there seems to be a pattern emerging. The Italian team has struggled to deliver results at crucial times, because of poor strategies or issues with the car. Sebastian Vettel knows it more than any Ferrari driver, as his team has arguably let him down before.

In his last race with Ferrari, he wrote a message to Leclerc when they swapped their helmets. “To Charles, you are the most talented driver I came across in 15 years of F1. Don’t waste it. Whatever you do to be happy and smile. Thanks for everything,” it read.

It all seems to be a familiar storyline with Ferrari once again. They start the season with a new lease on life, dominating every race. But as the season progresses, they fail to make their mark and ultimately lose out on the championship.

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Like Vettel, Leclerc could be a victim of Ferrari’s own disasters. However, the season has only had 8 races, and there is time to turn it around. The 24-year-old has been really quick this year, and will hope that his team can replicate his form.

Charles Leclerc reflects on a disappointing Azerbaijan GP

At one point in the season, Leclerc was in a league of his own both in terms of form and the results. However, in the last three races, he has suffered two DNFs and lost out on a victory because of a strategy error. As a result, he has lost massive ground on Verstappen in the championship.

Speaking after a frustrating race in Baku, he said, “We were in the lead of the race, I was managing the tyres well, we just had to manage the tyres and the race till the end, which I think was… we were definitely in the best position possible to do that. Another DNF – it hurts… We really need to look into that for it to not happen again.”

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The Monegasque will feel hard done because the current issues are out of his control. At the same time, Ferrari will reflect on these persistent problems and look to resolve them. With Leclerc already 34 points behind Verstappen, can he win the championship? Leave your predictions in the comments.