Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Pole on Leclerc

Clearly. Dry. Air +20…19С, rail +39…31С

The stage in Baku was the first of the season to feature a sprint on Saturday and was run in a new format – with two independent qualifiers and two races.

On Friday, after a single practice session, which lasted only 45 minutes due to the red flags – Verstappen showed the best time – the riders had the traditional qualifying session, setting the line-up for the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

In the morning Gasly’s car was on fire due to a leak in the hydraulic system. The fire was not immediately extinguished, the car smoked for a long time. The mechanics had to replace the gearbox and power plant, but they were in time for the start of qualifying.

For the first time this season, Pirelli brought the softest tires on the podium – C3, C4 and C5 as Hard, Medium and Soft.

In the first session everyone went to Soft and worked in a series of circles. Many people obstructed traffic. Zhou spun on the warm-up lap without affecting the car. Tsunoda hit the barrier with his right rear wheel. Verstappen left with an insufficiently secured headrest, but the stewards had not taken this into account.

In the eighth minute, the session was halted by red flags – after a brake error, Nick de Vries crashed into the barrier in turn three. The racer was not injured, but the car could not be quickly evacuated – it got caught on the TecPro barriers and when the tractor dragged it, a chain of barriers followed it. Barely 16 minutes later, the traffic light at the exit of the pit lane turned green again.

A few minutes later, the red flags appeared again – Pierre Gasly blocked the rubber under braking and crashed into the barrier in the same third turn. This time the break was a little shorter.

The engineer asked Magnussen to return to the pits due to problems with the power plant – the Dane completed qualifying ahead of schedule. Ocon and Hamilton hit the barrier with their rear wheel but continued on.

Charles Leclerc took the lead with a lap time of 1:41.269. Zhou, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Gasly and de Vries fell out of contention.

In the second session everyone also went to Soft. Sainz drove into the third corner safety pocket and kept moving.

In the first attempt, Pérez set the fastest time with 1:41.131, in the second Leclerc was faster, but Verstappen led the scoresheet with 1:40.822.

Russell, Ocon, Albon, Bottas and Sargent failed to qualify for the final. Mercedes was only the third fastest team with Mercedes engines.

In the final Stroll and Piastri missed the first attempt, while Verstappen and Leclerc showed the same time – 1:40.445, which separated the first and second lines.

On the second attempt, Leclerc was faster – 1:40.203.

Charles Leclerc won qualifying in Baku to take his third consecutive pole at the circuit, the first of the season and the 19th of his career.

On Sunday, Max Verstappen will share the front row with him, Perez and Sainz will start from second, Hamilton and Alonso will start from third.

The next session of Formula 1 in Baku is also qualifying – on Saturday morning during the Sprint Shootout, the racers determine the running order in the sprint.

Qualifying results