Did Leclerc accidentally disclose Ferrari secret in awkward Baku moment?

Charles Leclerc may have divulged more Ferrari power unit information than he was supposed to after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The awkward expression and subtle head-shaking from his Ferrari colleague did indeed suggest that Leclerc had said a little too much in front of the media.

Charles Leclerc involved in awkward Baku moment

Fresh off a low-key drive to fourth around the Baku City Circuit, Leclerc headed to the media pen. As is standard post-race practice, a member of the Ferrari team went with him.

Leclerc was asked whether his Ferrari SF-26 had the ADUO1 or ADUO2 specification engine.

“I had the latest version,” Leclerc told Sky Italia, confirming it was the ADUO2.

Leclerc then glanced over at his Ferrari colleague, whose concerned stare and head-shaking spoke volumes.

“I don’t know if I’m saying something I shouldn’t,” Leclerc continued, with a smile, as he turned back to face the microphone.

“I thought you knew!”

A major talking point heading into Baku was whether Leclerc would take an engine-related grid penalty, as he waited to find out whether his Monza engine could return to the pool.

He crashed out of Ferrari’s home race heavily through the Parabolica in the opening stages.

The Monegasque subsequently reverted to an older engine for Madrid as Ferrari assessed the damage.

The good news for Leclerc was that his Italian GP engine was deemed fit for further use in the build-up to the Baku weekend.

That engine was the ADUO2, Ferrari’s second power unit upgrade under the FIA’s ADUO (Additional Upgrade and Development Opportunities) system.

Nonetheless, Leclerc felt rather powerless in Baku compared to the Red Bulls and Mercedes’ George Russell.

It was a dominant light-to-flag victory for the Brit, while Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar ensured a double Red Bull podium.

“It was a bit of a boring race for us,” Leclerc told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets. “Unfortunately, we had a bad start, which was probably the only thing we could have done much better today.

“We lost a position to Oscar [Piastri], which is difficult to lose a position here.

“But then after that, we just had no pace. Compared to the Red Bull, it was very difficult to defend because in the straight line we are too slow, and we are just struggling with raw pace.”

He added: “Without the bad start, maybe Oscar would have been reachable. But apart from that, the two Red Bulls were too quick, and obviously George was too strong.”

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Ferrari appears to have lost ground to McLaren and Red Bull after fresh movements in the F1 2026 development battle for that duo.

Leclerc has called for a Ferrari reaction.

“I don’t think this track suits particularly our car, but it’s also true to say that I think McLaren and Red Bull did a step forward with the upgrades they are bringing, and that they have brought recently.

“They did a step forward that we didn’t do, and we must react, because then losing some pace now is going to be always very difficult to then take it back. Hopefully we can react very soon.

“We’ve got a few things coming. Whether it’s going to be enough to close the gap, not knowing what the others have in store as well, is another matter. But surely we’ve got a few things that should help us do some steps forward.”

Ferrari sits P2 in the Constructors’ standings, 72 points clear of McLaren and 115 up on Red Bull.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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