DPA
Berlin
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari took pole position for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix, while title challenger Lando Norris of McLaren suffered a shock exit in the first part of qualifying.
The Monegasque clocked the fastest time of 1 minute 41.365 seconds to claim his fourth consecutive pole position in Baku. Team-mate Carlos Sainz was third on Saturday with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri splitting the Ferrari cars in second, 0.321 behind Leclerc.
Norris, meanwhile, arrived in Baku with the aim of closing the 62-point gap to championship leader Max Verstappen. But the British driver had a scrappy run and his last flying lap was interrupted due to a yellow flag. He qualified way back in 17th.
Three-time defending champion Verstappen was only sixth as his task of ending a winless run of six races became even more difficult.
Debacle for Norris amid title race The weekend has been dominated by talk of team orders, with McLaren deciding to prioritize Norris over Piastri after the pair were allowed to race against each other at the Italian GP some two weeks ago and Piastri finished ahead of Norris.
But Norris’ qualifying result means that the internal dispute will be in the background for Sunday’s race.
“Just everyone did their second laps and I didn’t. I had to lift (for yellows). It is what it is, long race ahead, we have some good tyres in the bank,” Norris said. “I’m still hopeful we can get a good result, the car is still quick.
A little bit frustrating but nothing I could do.” Piastri, meanwhile, said that the track in Baku “rewards commitment” and that he just tried to “maximize the car, which was feeling good all the way through.”
Baku glory for Leclerc
at last?
Leclerc claimed his fourth consecutive pole position for the Azerbaijan GP, but the Ferrari driver is yet to win a race in Baku.
His best result was a third place in 2023, while in 2022 he was forced to retire due to an engine issue.
The Monegasque will now try to make it back-to-back victories after winning Ferrari’s home Italian GP at Monza.
“It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season. The pace was always there, and in Q3 in that last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came nicely, the car felt really good and it is amazing to be on pole,” he said.
Other results Sergio Perez out-qualified team-mate Verstappen and was fourth, while Mercedes were fifth and seventh with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton respectively.
Rookie Franco Colapinto, who replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams ahead of the Italian GP, was ninth, followed by team-mate Alex Albon in 10th as the British outfit had a strong performance on the street circuit.
Ollie Bearman, who is replacing the suspended Kevin Magnussen at Haas, was 11th after missing Q3 by a narrow margin.
Bearman, who will have a full-time seat at the US team next year, will be looking to become the first driver to score points for two different constructors in his two first races. Earlier this season, he replaced Sainz at Ferrari during the Saudi Arabian GP after the Spanish driver was diagnosed with appendicitis.
Bearman finished seventh in the race, earning his first career F1 points.
