Reigning world champion Max Verstappen has taken a dramatic pole position for Formula 1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a chaotic qualifying in Baku, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson.
Sainz looked set for pole after being one of the only drivers to get a dry lap in during Q3 session affected by crashes and rain, but in the dying seconds Verstappen denied the Williams driver a shock pole.
After six red flags had already caused long delays, drops of rain further derailed Q3 as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc saw his bid for a fifth consecutive Baku pole end in the Turn 15 Tecpro barrier, which had already courted many of his colleagues throughout the session.
Leclerc’s shunt had big ramifications, as the ensuing red flag meant only Sainz, Lawson and Hadjar were able to finish their laps. And with the rain then intensifying it looked as though their grid positions were baked in.
But precipitation soon halted and the delay to repair the Turn 15 barriers meant there was still a window for the heavy hitters to strike.
As qualifying got under way once more McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri looked the fastest car on track in sector one, but the Australian misjudged his braking into Turn 3 and slammed into the outside wall.
That caused another red flag with 3m41s left on the clock, leaving just enough time for one more run, while Sainz was still on for pole in case of another interruption.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images
With more rain drops affecting grip levels, the likes of Lando Norris and George Russell missed out, but Red Bull’s Verstappen found enough to beat Sainz’s time to deny the Spaniard, the Dutchman taking his first-ever Baku pole.
Lawson was a brilliant third after improving his lap time, followed by Mercedes duo Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Russell, and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Norris failed to capitalise on title rival Piastri’s crash and only qualified seventh followed by Hadjar and his McLaren team-mate Piastri, while Leclerc was 10th.
Even before the rain came, the treacherous gust of winds had already wreaked havoc. Q2 was red-flagged before cars had started a flying lap, with Haas driver Oliver Bearman breaking his suspension after a tap with the Turn 2 exit wall.
As the session resumed Leclerc provided further proof of the lack of grip by going off in Turn 1, accidentally also neutering Hamilton’s first flyer behind him, while on his next lap the Monegasque went straight on at Turn 3, putting himself under huge pressure.
On his final effort Leclerc did advance, moving up to fifth, while Hamilton was one of the victims of his team-mate’s late flyer, being dumped out in 12th alongside Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
In the second Red Bull under-pressure Tsunoda did scrape through in 10th, while Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Bearman followed the two world champions out.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Ozan Kose / AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Verstappen advanced as the pacesetter in Q2, with his medium-tyre lap 0.141s quicker than soft-tyred Norris and Piastri.
The first qualifying session was quickly red-flagged for Alex Albon, who wrecked the front-left corner of his Williams against the inside wall at Turn 1.
After a brief delay all remaining cars got a banker lap in, with Hamilton going top for Ferrari, before a second red flag came out for an off by Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 4, who shed his Sauber’s front wing.
With six minutes remaining Mercedes’ Antonelli was in danger of being eliminated after seeing his lap time deleted for crossing track limits. But the Italian delivered a clean lap to advance, as did fellow rookie Bortoleto.
Alpine’s Franco Colapinto didn’t follow their example after a bizarre Turn 4 incident. After team-mate Pierre Gasly had gone off ahead of him, the Argentinian then clattered into the outside wall at the same corner. Both Alpines were stuck in the drop zone as a result, with Esteban Ocon also eliminated alongside Hulkenberg and Albon.
F1 Azerbaijan GP – Qualifying results
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