F1 qualifying results: Verstappen beaten to pole as Hamilton fifth after Russell nightmare
Charles Leclerc will start on pole for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix after posting a last lap qualifying time which beat Max Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton finished fifth.
Charles Leclerc will start on pole position for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix after beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen during qualifying. The Monegasque qualified quickest around Baku for the third year in a row recording the quickest time on his final lap of qualifying.
Leclerc also qualified quickest in Baku last season before suffering a power unit failure in the race and had to retire. Red Bull and Ferrari were locked in a battle during the three qualifying sessions in Baku with little to separate the constructors.
Setting their first time in the final qualifying session Verstappen and Leclerc posted exactly the same time, but the reigning world champion posted his first so led. However, Leclerc responded on the final qualifying lap going faster and taking pole position.
Verstappen will be on the front row after finishing second 0.188 behind while Serio Perez was third. Carlos Sainz qualified fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton who struggled to match the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull cars. George Russell had a nightmare going out in Q2 and will start 11th on the grid.
KEY EVENTS
- Charles Leclerc takes pole15:28
- George Russell out in Q215:09
- Q1 finishes14:49
- Second red flag14:28
- Red flag14:10
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Qualifying times in full
1 Charles LECLERC Ferrari 1:40.203
2 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing +0.188
3 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +0.292
4 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.813
5 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.974
6 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +1.050
7 Lando NORRIS McLaren +1.078
8 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri +1.378
9 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +1.408
10 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +1.408
11 George RUSSELL Mercedes 1:41.654
12 Esteban OCON Alpine 1:41.798
13 Alexander ALBON Williams 1:41.818
14 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo 1:42.259
15 Logan SARGEANT Williams 1:42.395
16 Guanyu ZHOU Alfa Romeo 1:42.642
17 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team 1:42.755
18 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team 1:43.417
19 Pierre GASLY Alpine 1:44.835
20 Nyck DE VRIES AlphaTauri 1:55.282
Leclerc says qualifying was a 'game about being close to wall'
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc held his nerve to take pole for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix and said his fastest lap was a 'game' about not touching the wall on the city course.
"I like city tracks, you can really play with the limits more than a normal track," he told Sky Sports after taking pole ahead of Max Verstappen.
"The limit is a hard limit as it's the wall and you can not overstep it. It's a game about being very close to the wall without ever touching it.
"In the race I think we'll struggle a bit more as I still think Red Bull is a step ahead."
Mercedes stars Lewis Hamilton and George Russell says they gave it everything in Baku despite finishing fifth and 11th respectively in qualifying.
"We're trying as hard as we can and giving it absolutely everything out there," said Hamilton.
"The timing, getting into the rhythm and really putting out everything is not easy on this track. Q3 went well and I had a really sweet lap but needed just a little bit more time to nip a Ferrari. This is the pace that we have and is a good position to be in Sunday.
"I knew the Red Bulls would be quick but didn't realise that we'd have such a huge deficit on the straights. We've got a lot of work to do to rectify that. The car is not the easiest one to drive."
Max Verstappen sends rivals warning
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen feels that he has a 'very good race car' in an ominous warning to fastest qualifier Charles Leclerc.
"It's always tough around here to put the whole lap together," said Verstappen talking to Sky Sports.
"Around here it's really hard. In Q3 you are really on the limit and trying to make everything perfect is not the easiest. We are P2 and we know we've got a very good race car so all in all it's not bad.
"You always want to start ahead but we'll have to pass one car."
Qualifying results
Charles Leclerc qualified fastest with his time of 1-40.203 the quickest across the three qualifying sessions.
The Ferrari driver was 0.188 quicker than Max Verstappen in second and fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in third.
Carlos Sainz was fourth while Lewis Hamilton was the best of the rest finishing fifth 0.974 behind Verstappen.
Fernando Alonso was in sixth after Aston Martin also struggled to match the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari.
George Russell had a nightmare drive going out in Q2 and will have to fight his way forward from 11th on the grid.
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
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What a session! \ud83e\udd29#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CBs0CXrFcT
Lewis Hamilton fifth
Mercedes struggled for pace during the whole of qualifying and Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fifth behind both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers.
Charles Leclerc takes pole
With just minutes left of qualifying Charles Leclerc went out on his final lap and was faster than Verstappen's leading time through the first split.
Verstappen struggled to match the pace of the Ferrari as Leclerc took pole in a time of 1-40.203. Verstappen was 0.188 seconds behind. Sergio Perez in third.
Hamilton responds
Lewis Hamilton is currently behind both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers in fifth.
He is on another out lap aiming to peg back the rival teams further
Identical times for Ferrari and Red Bull
It looks to be a straight shootout between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
They post an identical time of 1-40.445, but the Dutch world champion records his time first so is quickest so far.
Q3 is underway
Drivers are ready for Q3 with Lewis Hamilton having to pull something out of the bag in the remaining 12 minutes as drivers fight for pole.
George Russell out in Q2
George Russell is out of Q2 as he finishes 11th 0.832 seconds behind quickest driver Max Verstappen.
"Ah suger, we will have to pace this weekend guys," said Russell.
Lewis Hamilton just squeezes into Q3 finishing 10th.
Q2 CLASSIFICATION
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Both Norris and Piastri advance to Q3 \ud83d\udc4f#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/FtNy1Xccfj
Mercedes struggles
After struggling to match the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari in Q1 the Mercedes duo are struggling to match the pace of their rivals in Q2.
Hamilton is currently in eighth position 0.613 behind Leclerc, while Russell is in ninth (0.617) behind.
Sergio Perez goes quickest
Red Bull are showing their speed in Azerbaijan as Sergio Perez sets the quickest time in Q2 after setting a time of 1-41.131.
Not to be outdone by his team-mate Max Verstappen responds and is just 0.062 hundredths slower than his team-mate.
Charles Leclerc responds with a time which is just slightly slower - just 0.085 behind Verstappen.
Q2 is underway
Drivers are back on track for another 15 minutes for Q2 and Lewis Hamilton will want to improve his time after a frantic Q1 which saw two red flags.
Q1 finishes
Charles Leclerc puts in the fastest time right at the end of Q1 of 1-41.269.
Nyck De Vries, Pierre Gasley, Kevin Magnusen all abandon so are out of qualifying.
Zhou Guanyu and Nico Hulkenberg also in the bottom five drivers so are eliminated at the end of Q1
Q1 CLASSIFICATION
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Encouraging signs for McLaren and Williams \ud83d\udc40#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/kRJOol3GYt
Kevin Magnussen problems
Kevin Magnussen has been called into the pits by his mechanics who have told him 'something is wrong with your car'.
Verstappen still has the fastest time but Lewis Hamilton has just improved his time and is fourth 0.715 seconds behind.
Cars are back out
The cars are back on track with Max Verstappen sandwiched by Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on course as drivers have six minutes left of Q1
Alpine mechanics can't believe it
After a frantic two hours preparing the car of Pierre Gasly ready for qualifying the Alpine mechanics can't believe it. The French driver's car caught on fire in practice but was remarkably repaired for qualifying.
However, Gasly then hit the wall on the exit from a tight turn and has ruined his car.
Second red flag
After a fire ended his practice session Pierre Gasly has now brushed the barrier on the exit of a corner resulting in a second red flag
Back underway
After a break in proceedings qualifying is back underway with a queue of cars ready to leave the paddock. There is 10 minutes remaining in Q1.
Carlos Sainz is yet to record a time.
Max Verstappen investigated
Red Bull's Max Verstappen has been investigated due to his headrest being loose. Verstappen flagged up the issue on his radio.
The Dutch driver was investigated over being 'released in an unsafe condition'. After a stewards review it was found no further investigation was needed.
Red flag
Nyck De Vries has missed the apex of the corner and crashed straight into the wall resulting in a red flag.
"Oh my god!" says the AlphaTaurir driver over his radio. All the cars return to the pits with 10 minutes left of Q1 and Verstappen having the quickest time so far.
George Russell is yet to get a decent time on the board and sits in 15h currently
Qualifying is underway
Pierre Gasly is the first driver out of the paddock, just to prove his Alpine car still moves after the remarkable efforts of mechanics over the last two hours.
Gasly thanks his Alpine team for getting his car ready. Fernando Alonso is another driver keen to get out of the paddock as drivers enter the track.
First flying run
Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has switched onto the soft tyres and enters his first flying lap with the help of some draft by Nico Hulkenberg. Hamilton sets the fastest time which is immediately beaten by Alex Albon and then Valtteri Bottas.
Max Verstappen has the fastest time after the first flying run of 1-41.887.
Ready for qualifying
Drivers are making their final preparations as Q1 in Baku is about to begin. It could provide an exciting session as the tight street circuit in Baku leaves little room for error.
The six kilometre course includes 20 corners.
Pierre Gasly
With 10 minutes before qualifying begins Alpine mechanics are still working hard on Pierre Gasly's car which caught on fire during practice.
During the two-hour gap between practice and qualifying the mechanics have had to change the gear box and power unit.
Start time
Q1 gets underway at 2pm and all the eyes will be on Max Verstappen to see if he can take a third pole position of the season.
How much Mercedes have been able to improve their car over the last four weeks is also unclear after both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had a quiet practice session.
Practice
With just the one practice for drivers to test their cars on the Baku street course there was always going to be some nerves.
It wasn't without incident as Pierre Gasley's car caught on fire bringing practice to a temporary halt. His car was eventually picked up by a breakdown lorry and taken back to the pits. It's unclear what the damage was or if he can take part in qualifying.
Qualifying
Welcome to grand prix qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen was quickest in the only practice session on Friday morning in Baku and will be aiming for another pole position.