On the day of the weakening World Championship rivals, Charles Leclerc once again shines in a Formula 1 qualification on the narrow streets of Baku. For the fourth time in a row, the Monegasque races to pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in his Ferrari. Almost two weeks after his triumph in front of the Tifosi at his home race in Monza, hopes for the next victory are high, because behind second-placed Oscar Piastri in his McLaren, Carlos Sainz lines up in the second Ferrari.
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“This is almost the best we could have hoped for. One and three – that’s where you want to be as a team, we have a good chance of winning there,” said Leclerc, also looking at the dirtier side of the track with the even starting numbers. For the 26-year-old, it is the 26th pole of his career. Leclerc had a lead of over three tenths of a second over Piastri, who was announced this week as teammate Lando Norris’s World Championship assistant.
Red Bull hope: “We have found speed”
The fact that Norris had already gotten out of his car a long time ago also gave Red Bull a sigh of relief. The Briton did not manage to finish higher than 17th. “It’s somewhat reassuring for the World Championship,” said Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko on the pay-TV channel Sky.
Its star driver Max Verstappen only managed sixth place after one of his rare mistakes, two places behind his team-mate Sergio Pérez, who had been beaten more or less clearly up to that point. “The positive thing is that we have found speed,” stressed Marko.
It remains to be seen whether this will pay off in the race. The Dutch three-time world champion has a 62-point lead over Norris. In the team classification, however, Red Bull is only eight points ahead of McLaren. Given the risk factor in Azerbaijan, however, the field could be thrown into disarray.
Nico Hülkenberg will start from position 14 in the Haas. The Argentinian Franco Colapinto did more than respectably in his second Formula 1 qualification, coming ninth in the Williams.
No time to lose
There was no time for dawdling or gambling when things got started. That’s how it is on narrow street circuits with the risk of accidents. If a colleague crashes, the red lights might come on and valuable time is lost, which is more or less how Norris was slowed down. So everyone got going straight away when the first knockout phase began and the last five were eliminated.
The changes that Red Bull has made to the RB20 since Monza seem to be doing Pérez good in particular – even though he is already considered a Baku expert: a third of his six Grand Prix victories to date have been achieved in Azerbaijan, most recently a year ago. Pérez confirmed once again that he likes the track.
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But that wasn’t the only surprise in the team duels with a world championship factor. Because where Piastri was, the McLaren bosses would certainly have seen Norris. After weeks of hesitation, they announced before the Grand Prix weekend in Azerbaijan that they would rely on the Brit in the fight for the world championship. And Piastri is supposed to help him. It will be exciting to see how the team will implement this in the race.
In any case, things weren’t going well for Norris in Baku the whole time. He was knocked over curbs and almost crashed into the track wall. Ultimately, he said, it was the yellow flags that waved in the last sector during his final attempt that proved to be his undoing. “I just went for the second lap and I couldn’t drive. I had to take my foot off the gas,” said Norris.
It is clear that overtaking is possible on the track. Of the six previous editions, all have been won by drivers who were at least in the top ten on the starting grid. Four times the winner came from the first two rows. But this time there is no Verstappen or Norris there. Instead there are two Ferraris and a World Championship helper.
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