Charles Leclerc storms to pole position from Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen at Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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Updated 11/06/2022 at 17:54 GMT
Formula One: Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Charles Leclerc takes pole position in Baku from Sergio Perez, with Max Verstappen in the other Red Bull in third and Carlos Sainz in fourth positon for Sunday's race. There were positive signs for Mercedes, as both Lewis Hamilton and team-mate George Russell made it into Q3.
‘Quite tricky’ - Drivers react to qualifying result at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc produced a stunning lap to snatch pole at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Leclerc trailed Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz going into the final minutes of the session, but he posted a time of 1:41.359 to take pole.
A Ferrari front-row lockout was denied by Sergio Perez, who hooked it up superbly to take second - with his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in third.
There were positive signs for Mercedes, as both Lewis Hamilton and team-mate George Russell made it into Q3 - albeit the former complained of the car “bottoming a dangerous amount” as it continued to porpoise.
The weekend has been notable for a number of complaints from drivers aimed at their peers, and Russell got in on the action early in Q1, complaining that Verstappen was, 'driving in an erratic manner,' but it was Lance Stroll who would go on to cause the most chaos.
Stroll rolled into a barrier at turn seven, before being able to restart under the auspices of a yellow flag, but after being checked out for damage he then hit another wall earlier in the track, and lost the front right wing, and damaged the right axle, bringing a red flag.
That interrupted the flow of Q1 and Kevin Magnussen, Alex Albon, Nicolas Latifi and Mick Schumacher were all cut alongside the Aston Martin man.
Q2 started in much the same manner as Stroll's team-mate and former world champion Sebastian Vettel also failed to stay away from a barrier at a turn, but he could restart after briefly prompting another yellow.
The usual suspects were able to keep their place for the final elimination round, but Hamilton had Russell to thank as the younger man provided a slipstream row to catapult him into sixth. Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were all eliminated at the bottom of the pack.
With Leclerc heading up the pack he must be favourite for the win, which could take him back to the top of the drivers' standings given Verstappen may not be given favourable treatment by his team-mate following the Dutchman's father, Jos, complaining about team strategy already.
As for Mercedes, they have Russell in fifth and Hamilton in seventh, meaning even a podium place may be a stretch.
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