Charles Leclerc is very much in the F1 "championship fight" against Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, insists former champion

Jacques Villeneuve has touched upon Charles Leclerc's chances of challenging Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the F1 drivers' championship this season. The former F1 champion is of the opinion that the Ferrari driver is very much in the mix to claim his first-ever F1 world title this season.

Leclerc had a mighty qualifying session at Baku City Circuit recently and claimed his fourth consecutive pole at the event. He won pole position by over three-tenths to McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

This comes after Leclerc's magnificent victory two weeks ago during the 2024 Italian GP in Monza. That race saw Leclerc close the championship gap to Verstappen and Norris, and he is now within touching distance of the duo.

Following the Azerbaijan GP qualifying, Villeneuve spoke about Leclerc's championship chances in front of the media. He said (via @FanaticsFerrari on X):

"Hold on, Leclerc is also in the championship fight somehow. He’s not that far off Norris in the points. We’ve only looked at Norris for the last few races, but Ferrari and Leclerc are also there.”

Currently, Max Verstappen leads the championship with 303 points after 16 races and three Sprints. He is followed by Lando Norris who has amassed 241 points, and then comes Charles Leclerc in P3 with 217 points.

If the Monegasque driver can convert his pole position to a victory on Sunday, one can expect him to close the gap even further, and breathe down Norris' neck.

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Charles Leclerc on his Azerbaijan qualifying journey

Pole position qualifier Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari is interviewed in parc ferme. Source: Getty Images

Following a fascinating qualifying session at Baku, Charles Leclerc opened up about how he managed to pull off the stunning lap at one of his favorite tracks. He usually finds his mojo on the street circuits as his experiences in Monaco and Jeddah (where he won races) have shown. Baku on Saturday was no different.

Speaking about his day, Leclerc said:

"It is one of my favorite tracks. I really like it. I was a bit worried and I knew we had to make up some time, but the pace was always there and in qualifying it was all about trying to stay as far as possible from the walls and then in the last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely."

Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz qualified in P3, and added more hope for Ferrari. Scuderia Ferrari is very close in terms of the constructors' championship as it trails leaders Red Bull by 39 points and P2 McLaren by 31 points. A 1-2 or a win and a podium finish would provide further impetus to the Italian team in its quest for championships.