Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc made it four successive pole positions at the Baku City Circuit by beating Oscar Piastri to the top spot during Saturday’s qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while there was drama for the other McLaren of Lando Norris in the form of a Q1 elimination, according to the Formula 1 official website.
Leclerc produced a blistering lap of 1m 41.365s to finish some three-tenths clear of Piastri in the final Q3 phase, adding to his 2021, 2022 and 2023 poles at the venue, with team mate Carlos Sainz rounding out the top three positions.
Red Bull showed flashes of pace throughout qualifying but ultimately had to settle for fourth and sixth, with two-time Azerbaijan winner Sergio Perez getting the better of Max Verstappen, while George Russell put his Mercedes in fifth.
Lewis Hamilton seemingly faced a battle to get his tyres up to temperature en route to seventh place, as Fernando Alonso took eighth for Aston Martin and Williams drivers Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon completed the Q3 order.
In what was an otherwise excellent day for Williams, and especially rookie Colapinto, Albon’s efforts were hindered when the Thai-British driver was sent out for his final lap with an airbox fan still attached.
While Albon stopped on track, managed to release the fan and throw it to the waiting marshals, the time he lost in doing so meant he could not get another lap in – with stewards set to investigate the incident post-session.
Ollie Bearman just missed out on a spot in the pole position shootout, having finished a tenth down on Albon in Q2, prompting a frustrated radio message from the Briton on his return to the pits despite out-qualifying experienced Haas team mate Nico Hulkenberg.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly had to settle for respective P12 and P13 places, the former being hit with a fine for speeding in the pit lane, while Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were the slowest of the runners in the second qualifying segment.
It was a disastrous session for title challenger Norris, who will start in 17th position – just behind RB driver and former team mate Daniel Ricciardo – after his Q1 elimination, having run wildly over the kerbs and encountered a slow-moving Esteban Ocon in the final sector.
Kick Sauber pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu placed 18th and 19th respectively, the latter facing a back-of-the-grid start in any case, while the aforementioned Ocon wound up 20th after his Alpine slowed once again in the closing stages of the opening phase.
