F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Leclerc says he raced with Ferrari’s latest power unit in Baku

The Ferrari driver said he had the latest power unit in Baku after the team had declined to say which specification it would use.

GPBeat · Newsroom06 Oct 2026, 01:19 · 1 min

Charles Leclerc said he raced with Ferrari’s latest power-unit specification at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, answering a question Ferrari had left open before the event. Asked in a Sky Italy interview after the race whether his car had the ADUO-1 or newer ADUO-2 unit, he replied that it had the “latest specification” — pointing to ADUO-2.

A Ferrari press officer beside him shook her head during the exchange. Leclerc then wondered aloud whether he should have said it, adding that he had thought the information was already known. RacingNews365 describes the answer as revealing a “secret”; SportMediaset instead focuses on why Ferrari’s choice for Baku had been uncertain.

SportMediaset reports that the ADUO-2 unit had been used at Monza, then sent for checks after Leclerc’s crash and not fitted for the following Madrid Grand Prix. It says Leclerc had indicated before Baku that the unit was available again, although Ferrari would not say which specification it would use.

Leclerc started second in Azerbaijan and finished fourth, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth.

Sources 03

SOURCECharles Leclerc gives too much away about Ferrari engine in awkward interview after Azerbaijan GPCrash.net · Source date as found: 2026-09-27
SOURCE"Non so se ho detto una cosa che non potevo dire…" La gaffe di Leclerc diventa viraleSportMediaset · Source date as found: 2026-09-27
SOURCECharles Leclerc reveals Ferrari secret and embarrasses press officerRacingNews365 English · Source date as found: 2026-09-28

Source context

The account of the unit’s checks after Monza and its non-use in Madrid comes from SportMediaset’s report.

Claims and supporting evidence 6

Crash.net identifies the exchange as an interview with Sky Italy after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix; SportMediaset also places it during interviews with Sky. These are reports about the same exchange, not separate events.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Post-race interview in Baku After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 26 September 2026 The retrieved articles report the interview; a complete original interview transcript was not supplied.

[1][2]

Asked whether he had ADUO-1 or the newer ADUO-2 power unit, Leclerc said he had the latest specification. SportMediaset identifies that answer as ADUO-2; Crash.net and RacingNews365 report the same substantive answer. This is a reported statement by Leclerc, not an independently measured identification of the installed unit.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Leclerc’s account of his Baku power unit After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 26 September 2026 All three accounts concern the same interview. Their agreement does not amount to separate technical verification by Ferrari.

[2][1][3]

Crash.net, SportMediaset and RacingNews365 each describe the accompanying Ferrari press officer shaking her head. Leclerc then questioned whether he should have said it and said he had thought the information was already known. Descriptions of panic, annoyance or embarrassment are the outlets’ interpretations, not established states of mind.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Reported reaction during the interview After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 26 September 2026 The retrieved material supports the reported gesture and Leclerc’s response, not a claim about the press officer’s intent.

[1][2][3]

SportMediaset reports that the ADUO-2 unit had been used at Monza, was sent for checks after Leclerc’s crash, and was not fitted for the subsequent Madrid Grand Prix. It further reports that, before Baku, Leclerc said the unit had returned to the available pool but Ferrari would not disclose which specification it would use. RacingNews365 likewise notes uncertainty after the Monza crash. This background explains the question’s significance; the retrieved reports do not verify Ferrari’s internal decision-making independently.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Reported technical background to the Baku question From the Italian Grand Prix through the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September 2026 The detailed Monza, Madrid and pre-Baku account comes from SportMediaset; RacingNews365 supplies narrower overlap, not independent confirmation of every detail.

[2][3]

Crash.net and SportMediaset agree that Leclerc started on the front row and finished fourth in Baku, while Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton finished sixth. The result does not establish what effect, if any, the reported power-unit specification had on performance.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Baku race result relevant to the reported specification Azerbaijan Grand Prix, 26 September 2026 Neither retrieved report provides a controlled comparison of power-unit specifications or attributes the finishing position to ADUO-2.

[1][2]

The three outlets agree on the core interview exchange. SportMediaset adds the most detailed reported history of the unit and Ferrari’s pre-Baku nondisclosure; Crash.net adds race and championship context; RacingNews365 frames the moment as revealing a ‘secret’. These are differences in emphasis, not evidence of separate disclosures or a demonstrated contradiction about the answer.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Differences among the retrieved accounts Reports published 27–28 September 2026 about the 26 September race The publications draw on the same underlying interview. Their characterizations of Ferrari’s wishes should not be treated as independent confirmation of a formal confidentiality rule.

[1][2][3]

Corrections and updates to this story

06 Oct 2026, 01:19

Overbodige toelichting over bronnen en bewijs uit de Engelse en Nederlandse lopende tekst verwijderd. De feitelijke inhoud, uitspraken en bronverwijzingen zijn behouden.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.