These are chastening times for Charles Leclerc.
After his runaway start to the season, Ferrari’s poster boy is learning that outrageous speed and phenomenal car control are not enough to make you Formula One world champion.
The 24-year-old has suffered a massive 55-point swing since the heady days of his early season domination.
So Maranello and its lead driver arrive in Azerbaijan looking to halt Red Bull’s four-win charge at one of the most unpredictable races of the year.
After two victories in the opening three rounds Leclerc was 46 points clear of his biggest rival, Max Verstappen.
In the four races since he has haemorrhaged points and now trails by nine.
He must gaze at the string of recent results and wonder how it can have gone so wrong, so quickly.
After his tortured scream at the strategy snafu in Monaco and his comments afterwards it would be easy to suppose the path to glory lies in Maranello getting their act together.
But Leclerc also needs to look at himself.
In changing conditions he waited on his team to make the strategy call while in the other Ferrari, long before it became an issue, Carlos Sainz told the team - not asked note, told - he would not be taking intermediate tyres but would go straight on to slicks.
It was a brave call, requiring a sense of where the track would be as well as where it was and the best point to make the tyre transition. Acting too early or too late could be disastrous, as Leclerc discovered.
So if Sainz could see the way forward why couldn’t Leclerc?
Indeed, but for some dithering backmarkers, Sainz would have been the hero of the hour. Instead it was Sergio Perez.
The Mexican, who won at Baku last year, has also shown he knows how to win on street tracks, if not how to party afterwards.
Of course Leclerc’s breakdown in Barcelona cannot be laid at his door but he has to (and has) taken responsibility for the previous disaster at Imola when Verstappen’s remarkable rise began.
The Monegasque tried to earn an extra point by gunning for fastest lap late in the race only to skid off at Variante Alta chicane and lose 17 instead.
Before that day Leclerc had led 143 of the 165 laps raced. Nearly nine out of every 10. Since, he has led just 51 of 240. That’s one in five.
Speed alone wins races but rarely championships. It requires brains, too.
Interestingly, in Italy’s Il Foglio newspaper, Ricciardo Ceccarelli, head of Formula Medicine, recalls dealing with kart-racing Leclerc at 13: “Charles couldn’t handle his anger. He worked a lot on that and I think you can see the result. The perfect driver, seemingly calm with a killer instinct.”
As Leclerc himself admitted of that period: “... at times I wasn't able to manage my competitive position, my determination, especially when some episode happened that made me angry.”
No-one is suggesting he is still that man. Since then he has honed his remarkable skills to develop into one of the sport’s elite. But at 24 there are, still, plenty of lessons to learn. They will come, of course, it’s the price he pays that is within his control. On Sunday, double champion Fernando Alonso becomes the sport’s longest serving racer, insisting he still has more to learn.
And so to Baku’s street track where the margins are wafer thin. Concrete walls and high tech crash barriers feet from the car for almost the entire length of the 6km circuit.
While the speed favours Ferrari’s superior power, the brake-wrecking stops and 90 degree bends will test their machineries' dubious pedigree.
Baku is a track that bites. No driver has won the race twice.
And Leclerc and Verstappen themselves, the two key title combatants, are yet to win there, although both have started from pole.
So Baku is a collision of opposites. A claustrophobic street track where 76 per cent is spent at full throttle.
The fastest part is the 2km flat out start/finish stretch where speeds top 320kph.
After four wins on the trot by Red Bull, Ferrari and Leclerc will be desperate to arrest the slump.
And they need to do it before champions Mercedes inevitably re-join the battle for victories, if not the championship.
Ferrari have proved they can be fastest. Becoming champions will depend on whether they can weather this storm and show they can be the smartest, too.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
RACE CARD
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
