Azerbaijan GP – Max Verstappen deprives Sainz of pole, Piastri hits the wall

Gusts of wind and rain disrupted a very lively qualifying session in Baku this Saturday. In these extremely difficult conditions, it was Max Verstappen (Red Bull) who took pole position ahead of Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)!

After multiple interruptions during the first two phases of qualifying, rain arrived at the very start of Q3. Carlos Sainz (Williams), Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) were the first to leave the pits and managed to complete a lap before the track became very slippery. Then came the red flag caused by the excursion of Charles Leclerc (Classic Ferrari for sale) in the last sector. In search of a fifth pole position in a row in Baku, the Monegasque destroyed his car after taking a lot of risks in the previous rounds.

The session resumed with just over seven minutes to go. While Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was on course to set the fastest time, Oscar piastri (McLaren) caused the sixth red flag of the afternoon, setting a new record for a qualifying session in F1The championship leader finished only 9th in qualifying, two places behind his teammate and rival Lando NorrisWith 3:41 on the clock, Sainz, Lawson and Hadjar were still the only ones to have set a time in Q3 at the time of the Australian's exit.

The remaining drivers were finally able to make a final attempt in the dying moments. On a low-grip track, Max Verstappen was the only one able to beat Carlos Sainz's time, depriving the Spaniard of pole position. Sainz will nevertheless start on the front row this Sunday, followed by Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), an excellent third after improving on his last attempt, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes Benz). The young Italian could, however, fall back in the hierarchy for not having slowed down sufficiently under yellow flags in Q1.

Double runway exit for the Alpine in Q1

The first one trapped in the streets of Baku was Alex AlbonThe Thai driver hit the wall on the inside of the first corner, damaging the front left of his Williams. This was a major blow for the Grove-based team, whose car had performed well on this track since the start of the weekend. With 11 minutes and 33 seconds left on the clock, Albon was the first driver to be eliminated from Q1.

The qualifying session was interrupted for a second time just over six minutes from the end of the first phase after a track exit by Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) in the second sector, the German leaving his front wing in the wall. A third red flag ended the first race after a double excursion of the Alpine : Pierre Gasly did not damage his car, but ended up in the escape route at Turn 4. In the process, his teammate Franco Colapinto lost control at the same point and hit the wall, destroying his car. In addition to the four drivers who were injured, Esteban Ocon (Haas) was the fifth eliminated in Q1.

Q2 began as Q1 had ended: with a red flag. This time, the culprit was Oliver Bearman (Haas). Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) and Lance stroll (Aston Martin) were also eliminated in Q2. This was a big disappointment for the seven-time world champion, as Ferrari had started the weekend well. He will start in 12th position on the grid this Sunday.

Join us at 13 p.m. this Sunday for the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, to be followed live with commentary on AUTOhebdo.fr.

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F1 – Azerbaijan GP

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