F1 – Leclerc takes fourth straight Baku pole ahead of Piastri and Sainz as Norris exits in Q1

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc powered to a fourth consecutive pole position at the Baku City Circuit, three tenths of a second clear of Oscar Piastri, with Carlos Sainz taking third in qualifying for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the second Ferrari. However, Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen only managed P6 and title Lando Norris exited in Q1 in an eventful session.

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“It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season. I really like it,” said Leclerc after taking his 26^th career pole. “In qualifying, until Q3, it was all about trying to stay as far as possible off the walls. And then in that last lap, I went for it a bit more. And the lap time came very nicely. I mean, the car felt really good and everything felt great. So, yeah, it’s amazing to be on pole.”

At the start of Q1 it was Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez who set the early pace, with the Mexican taking top spot  with a lap of 1:43.436, just over two tenths clear of Verstappen. Leclerc then split the Red Bulls. with Piastri slotting into fourth place ahead of McLaren team-mate Norris.

Pérez went straight into a second run and an improved time of 1:43.436 returned him to the top of the order ahead of Sainz whose own second run netted him a time of 1:42.517. And with a third flyer on the same set of tyres, Pérez then lowered the benchmark to 1:43.213.

However, with five minutes left Leclerc moved well clear, posting a 1:42.775 to eclipse the Red Bull driver by more than four tenths of a second before Russell also demoted the Mexican. Pérez opted to sit out the final runs and though he slipped to P10 he eased through to Q2.

At the top of the Q1 order Leclerc’s mid-session 1:42.775 allowed him to keep hold of P1 ahead of Albon and Piastri, but in a shock end to the session, there was no place in the second session for the Australian’s McLaren team-mate Lando Norris. The Beiton’s final flyer appeared to be hampered by yellow flags and he slid out of the session in P17.

Verstappen and Pérez were again out on track early at the start of the second session and this time it was the Dutch driver who set the pace with a lap of 1:42.042 that put him 0.221s ahead of his team-mate. Piastri slotted into third place, with Russell fourth. Leclerc then managed to split the Bulls, 0.014s off Max, while Sainz slotted into fourth 0.2s behind Pérez.

And the top three held firm through the final runs. Pérez again opted out of the final laps and when Leclerc backed out of his attempt, Verstappen also chose to ease off at the end of his final flyer and he went through to Q3 in top spot thanks to his first run time ahead of the Ferrari.

At the other end of the order, Haas’ Oliver Bearman dropped out in P11 ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the second Haas of Nico Hülkenberg, Aston Martin’s Lace Stroll and the second RB of Daniel Ricciardo.

In the first runs of the top 10 shootout, Leclerc put Ferrari on provisional pole, with the Monegasque driver posting a lap of 1:41.610 to take top spot, two tenths of a second ahead of Sainz, with Piastri third ahead of Russell. Pérez slotted into P5 thanks to an opening lap of 1:42.045 with Verstappen two tenths further back in sixth.

At the start of the final runs, there was a strange incident when Williams’ Alex Albon left the Williams garage with the airbox fan still in place. The Thai driver was forced to pull over at the pit exit where he manually dragged the fan out and threw it overboard. The delay would lead to an investigation for unsafe release and prevented him from crossing the line to start a final flyer.

Ahead of him, there was no stopping Leclerc. The Ferrari driver proved unbeatable in the final flyers, claiming a fourth straight Baku pole with a lap of 1:41.365, three tenths ahead of Piastri and almost half a second ahead of third-place Sainz.

Pérez, back on form on a circuit at which he has won twice in the past, put in a strong final flyer to claim fourth spot on the grid ahead of Russell, but Verstappen, could only manage sixth on the grid, alongside Hamilton and ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the impressive Franco Colapinto of Williams and the unfortunate Albon.

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