Leclerc’s dominance in Azerbaijan’s standings
The Monegasque driver surpasses Red Bull and Carlos Sainz will start fourth, while Fernando Alonso will do so in sixth position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) put in an impressive performance in Baku, taking pole position in Friday’s qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With a time of 1:40.203, he edged Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by a tenth, taking his third consecutive pole on the Azeri street circuit and Ferrari’s first in 2023.
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso in competitive positions
Spanish pilots Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) they clinched fourth and sixth starting positions for Sunday, respectively. Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez (Red Bull) will start third, sharing the second row of the grid with Sainz.
Incidents and red flags in the classification
The qualifying session was marked by several incidents and red flags. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) crashed into the wall at Turn 3, causing a break. Shortly after, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) suffered a similar accident in the same corner.
Q1 and Q2 with good performance of the Spanish
In Q1, Leclerc moved into first position, followed by Verstappen, while Alonso remained in third and Sainz in ninth. Q2 was led by the Red Bulls, but Sainz and Alonso finished in the ‘top 5’ before the final round.
The fight for pole in Q3
Q3 was full of tension and emotion. Verstappen’s first attempt resulted in a time of 1:40.445, which was equaled by Leclerc seconds later. However, the Monegasque managed to improve his time with a spectacular 1: 40.203, thus securing pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The ‘Top 10’ in the classification
The top ten in the standings were: Leclerc, Verstappen, Pérez, Sainz, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Alonso, Lando Norris (McLaren), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren).