Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifications: Leclerc slaps Red Bull, Alpine out of the game

Q1: Pierre Gasly cursed in Baku

Pierre Gasly presented himself at the exit of the pit lane in order to quickly catch up on the lost time in FP1. He didn’t miss the opportunity to thank his team for the work they had done.

The first significant lap time of Q1 was set by Lewis Hamilton, in 1’43″676, but Alexander Albon, in the Williams, beat both Mercedes! The Thai driver is having an interesting start to the weekend.

The two McLarens of Norris and Piastra temporarily took the lead, before Verstappen and Leclerc came to restore the session’s hierarchy. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, surprisingly returned before the end of his first attempt.

And then came the first red flag: Nyck de Vries made a mistake at turn 3, while he had a great pace in practice sessions. A completely missed braking forced him to retire and end up in last place (unless other drivers are penalized). That ruined Sainz’s flying lap.

Hostilities have resumed for a short period: Pierre Gasly, once again unlucky this Friday, hit in the same place as Nyck de Vries, breaking the rear right of his Alpine quite noticeably. The Frenchman’s qualifying session is over, while Carlos Sainz had a big scare at turn 1, even though he still hadn’t completed any laps.

The streets of Baku are always proving to be treacherous, and one could fear that it will last a long time! Carlos Sainz had every interest in quickly making his way to the pit exit. Verstappen’s 1’41″398 lap time seemed difficult to match, but Sergio Pérez was definitely up for the challenge.

Kevin Magnussen was called back to his pit after an alert on his Haas: his position in Q2 was definitely compromised. The Williams cars are also surprising everyone: Albon and Sargeant easily made it to Q2.

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the session, ahead of Verstappen and Alonso. Esteban Ocon just managed to secure 15th place.

The eliminated from Q1: Zhou, Hülkenberg, Magnussen, De Vries, Gasly.

Q2: Mercedes disappoints

The two Aston Martins, in the order of Alonso-Stroll, set the fastest time, with the Red Bulls of Pérez and Verstappen following closely. The Mexican was the quickest, with a time of 1’41″131, which didn’t promise much suspense for the pole position, or even the front row. However, Alonso was only two tenths behind. But how much room for improvement does he have?

Both Ferraris are also well positioned, in a session where the drivers are generally quite cautious. Charles Leclerc was less than a tenth of a second behind the fastest time.

The Williams threat weighed heavily on Esteban Ocon, for whom breaking into the top 10 was a significant challenge. The Mercedes cars themselves also appear to be struggling, having great difficulty avoiding the elimination zone.

Esteban Ocon failed in his quest for Q3, just like George Russell, by four thousandths of a second! Williams is disappointed, as their cars, extremely fast in a straight line, were unable to defend their chances.

The Q2 eliminatations: Russell, Ocon, Albon, Bottas, Sargeant.

Q3: A stopwatch identical to the first attempt!

Who will go get the Red Bulls? Apart from Charles Leclerc, no one seemed capable of competing with them for the pole position.

From the first attempt, all eyes were naturally focused on the Red Bulls, who had a formidable duo fighting for them! Incredible but true: Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen set a 1’40:445! The Dutchman set the time first.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished 5th, seemed to react, even though his Mercedes appeared to be more outpaced than that. However, his time was still seven tenths off the reference, jointly held by Verstappen and Leclerc.

Finally came the very last attempt of these qualifications: Charles Leclerc set off with great agility in his quest for pole position! The Monegasque driver clocked a 1’40″203, earning him his 3rd consecutive pole position in the streets of Azerbaijan’s capital!

Max Verstappen narrowly missed out, with Sergio Pérez close behind. Fernando Alonso finished in 6th place, just one second behind Leclerc.

The results of the qualifications