Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying: Leclerc smashes the stopwatch in Baku

Q1:

The first driver to set a lap time was Lando Norris. The Briton had set a good time during Free Practice 3 by recording the 5th fastest lap on the time sheet. However, despite this, the McLaren driver was immediately beaten by Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of his Alpine.

Higher up in the rankings, the Red Bulls were showing very good form at the start of the session with Max Verstappen setting a 1’42’938. The Dutchman was followed by his teammate, Sergio Perez. The two Ferraris were right behind the cars of the Austrian team.

Much less enjoyable session, however, for Lance Stroll who encountered the barriers on two occasions. The first one, at turn number 7, had no consequences. The Aston Martin driver simply braked too late, locked the front left wheel before lightly hitting the barriers at low speed. It was nevertheless a miracle that his front wing was not damaged by this contact. The Canadian had much less luck one lap later at the second turn. Stroll once again locked his wheels, but this time his wheel did not survive. Therefore, the number 18 driver finishes the qualifying session in second-to-last position, while his teammate in the garage, Vettel, was in 5th position at the time of the accident.

To highlight the great performances of both AlphaTauri cars, Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin (6th), and finally Guanyu Zhou’s (9th).

List of eliminated drivers: Mick Schumacher (20th), Lance Stroll (19th), Nicholas Latifi (18th), Alexander Albon (17th), and Kevin Magnussen (16th)

Q2:

The two fastest cars in Q1 were the first ones to take the track in Q2. Max Verstappen clocked a 1’42’227, a time immediately 5 tenths faster than his best lap in Q1. Confirming his high level of competitiveness this weekend, Sergio Perez positioned himself just a few thousandths behind the Dutchman.

The other highly competitive drivers were the Ferrari drivers who showed a very good pace at the beginning of Q2, beating the times of the Red Bulls and placing themselves at the top of the timesheet. For once this weekend, it was Carlos Sainz who had the upper hand over his teammate. Only 93 milliseconds separated the two representatives of the team with the prancing horse logo.

Former Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel had a little scare at the 15th turn. Locking up his wheels, the German driver grazed the barriers with his front wing. Fortunately for the four-time world champion, no damage was reported. Aston Martin’s front wings proved to be very resilient during this qualifying Saturday. This small mistake did not stop Vettel from advancing to Q3.

For the first time this season, Valtteri Bottas was beaten in the qualifying session by Guanyu Zhou. There was almost a 7 tenths gap that separated the two Alfa Romeos. It’s quite a significant difference in performance.

List of eliminated drivers: Valtteri Bottas (15th), Guanyu Zhou (14th), Esteban Ocon (13th), Daniel Ricciardo (12th), and Lando Norris (11th).

Q3 stands for “Question 3” and does not need to be translated.

It was the Ferraris that set the best pace during the first attempts of this last part of qualifying. Carlos Sainz continued to impress by taking the provisional pole position. The gap between him and Charles Leclerc was once again minimal, only 47 milliseconds. The two Red Bulls were within two tenths of the red cars.

It is a formidable Charles Leclerc who has blown away the competition with a 1’41’359. The Monegasque driver has therefore secured his 14th pole position in his Formula 1 career. It was surely an overly explosive and rushed lap from Carlos Sainz, which cost him a place in the top 3. The Spaniard will start 4th on the grid tomorrow. Sergio Perez will start in second position on the grid tomorrow. His time was three tenths off the pole position. Max Verstappen will start in 3rd position.

Pierre Gasly finished this Saturday in 6th position, his best result in this exercise this season.