Azerbaijan GP: Charles Leclerc takes Baku pole as Lando Norris suffers shock early exit to hurt F1 title bid
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made it four consecutive poles in Baku; Lando Norris suffered a nightmare as he was knocked out in Q1 and will have a huge task ahead of him in the race; watch the Azerbaijan GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 12pm on Sunday, with build-up from 10.30am
Charles Leclerc took pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Lando Norris suffered a huge blow to his title bid as he was eliminated in the first part of Qualifying.
McLaren’s Norris is set to start Sunday’s race from 16th after he appeared to be hindered by yellow flags during his final flying lap in
The only slight consolation for the Brit was that world championship leader Max Verstappen could only claim sixth as he was out-qualified by Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez for the first time in 16 months in a dramatic session.
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At the front, Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took second place 0.321s behind Leclerc, whose Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz claimed third.
Perez will start fourth in front of Mercedes’ George Russell, who endured a lengthy wait after the session before finally escaping with just a reprimand for failing to slow under yellow flags.
Verstappen once more struggled to find a desirable balance in his RB20, while Lewis Hamilton was seventh for Mercedes after another difficult Saturday for the seven-time world champion.
Franco Colapinto reached Q3 in just his second F1 Qualifying, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in front of him and Williams team-mate Alex Albon in 10th.
Albon failed to get the chance to set a final Q3 time in bizarre circumstances after Williams left an engine cooling fan on his car as he exited the garage.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly finished 13th but was later disqualified from Qualifying for exceeding the permitted instantaneous fuel mass flow.
Azerbaijan GP Qualifying: Top 10
1) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
5) George Russell, Mercedes
6) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
7) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
8) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
9) Franco Colapinto, Williams
10) Alex Albon, Williams
