Charles Leclerc sees off Red Bull threat to take Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole in Baku
Leclerc #Leclerc
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03:35 PM Hamilton could well take a grid penalty 03:34 PM Or maybe it was an engine issue for Perez
He says in his post-qualifying interview that they couldn’t start the car. We will see.
03:32 PM Perez was under-fuelled, hence him being left in the garage longer
And that meant he didn’t get a tow. Would that have cost him pole? It would have made it more likely. Probably at least explains why the gap was as big as it was.
03:30 PM Azerbaijan GP qualifying – Top 10 and gaps
03:28 PM CHARLES LECLERC TAKES POLE FOR THE 2022 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
Another supreme lap. Can he make it count tomorrow?
Hamilton only seventh, Russell fifth. Two tenths the difference.
Sainz made a mess of his final lap. It’s 8-0 to Leclerc in qualifying now.
03:27 PM Q3 – Perez goes second!
He beats Verstappen for the second race running! Decent, but Leclerc makes it another pole position!
03:27 PM Q3 – Verstappen fastest in the final sector
But he’s three tenths down! Second only.
Perez is roughly on Verstappen’s time after two sectors… it will be too much to beat Leclerc surely but can he beat his team-mate?
03:26 PM Q3 – Leclerc is up by half a second after two sectors!
That is going to take some beating!
Verstappen is half a second off that after two sectors!
It’s a 1:41.359s for Leclerc! Mega lap to go fastest!
03:25 PM Q3 – Sainz sets a poor first sector time
He’s nearly half a second off the pace there.
What does Leclerc do? He is up by 0.114s…
Verstappen? He’s there or thereabouts… 0.052s slower than Sainz’s best but a tenth or so away from Leclerc at the moment.
03:24 PM Q3 – Hot laps under way
Sainz the lead car of the top four. Then it’ll be Leclerc, Verstappen and Perez, who is some way behind.
Sainz getting very close to the wall, if not touching it, in the first sector.
03:23 PM Q3 – Final runs under way
Perez isn’t out of the garage yet though. Verstappen queried why he was ahead, but the reason was an issue with the Mexican’s car.
03:22 PM Q3 – Hamilton not happy
“The cars bottoming out a dangerous amount,” he says.
03:21 PM Q3 – Five mins remain
Replays show Perez brushing the wall (a bit harder than a kiss) on his hot lap. Would it have been a tenth’s worth of time? Maybe. I think Leclerc has extra pace here, but can he unlock it?
03:21 PM Q3 – Top 10 and gaps after the first runs
03:20 PM Q3 – Sainz posts a 1:41.814
Leclerc doesn’t beat it! It’s close, just 0.047s in it.
Perez is third and Verstappen only fourth… close to his team-mate but 0.175s off the lead Ferrari.
Leclerc had a rear slide in middle sector which cost him time.
03:18 PM Q3 – Sainz with a 41.057 in the middle sector
Leclerc responss with a 31.031, Perez with a 41.180… Verstappen makes up two tenths nearly on his team-mate…
03:18 PM Q3 – It’s a 35.729 for Sainz in sector one
Leclerc is marginally quicker than that, Perez is a tenth behind…
Verstappen well off that…
03:17 PM Q3 – First runs under way
Perez very close to the back of Leclerc in the middle sector. He then backs off a bit to give him some space.
03:14 PM Q3 begins!
12 minutes to go. Fernando Alonso out early.
03:13 PM Did Leclerc hit the wall?
Replays and this photo: inconclusive.
03:11 PM Vettel made it through in the end after his shunt
He finished on the podium here last year. And that’s a good effort here.
Replays showing Hamilton almost came to a stop on the track before his final flying lap. He could be investigated for that. It might be a penalty, but we will see.
03:09 PM Q2 – Top 10
Russell’s lap there was a bit of a sacrificial one to help Hamilton, it seemed.
03:08 PM Q2 ends – Drivers eliminated
11. NOR
12. RIC
13. OCO
14. ZHO
15. BOT
03:08 PM Q2 – Norris looking good after two sectors
Ricciardo is currently 13th, but only improves to 12th.
Norris has aborted his lap, so it is two McLarens out. Not by a huge margin, though.
03:07 PM Q2 – Final runs being completed
Norris needs to find lap time to improve to get into the top 10… but he can’t do it. He went straight on at turn three, so that’s two McLarens out and not in the top 10. Currently.
Ricciardo still has time to do it… and Norris might as well, actually. He has another lap.
03:05 PM Q2 – Perez leads, Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen and Gasly as it stands
Hamilton struggling to get out of Q2 here, but he’s going okay here… nothing special as he heads into the final sector. He’s getting a tow from Russell.
Hamilton improves, with that tow, to go into sixth. Should be fine with that? Maybe.
03:04 PM Q2 – Drivers in the drop zone
11. HAM
12. OCO
13. RIC
14. ZHO
15. BOT
Hamilton a little grumpy on the radio…
Verstappen brushed the wall with his rear left at turn seven, which might explain his deficit on the second laps.
One minute to go…
03:03 PM Q2 – Leclerc can’t do it…
0.091s slower. It’s only Q2, though, so the important thing is getting into the top 10. But it looks tight at the top, doesn’t it?
Bottas struggling here. Hamilton has been noted for driving unnecessarily slowly. Nothing more than that at the moment, mind you.
03:02 PM Q2 – Verstappen does not improve on his second lap
But Leclerc is on a decent lap here… 0.062s down on Perez after two sectors… this could be tight.
03:01 PM Q2 – Perez goes fastest in the middle sector
Can he go fastest overall? Yes, by 0.133s.
He locks up and goes in slowly at turn 15 and is able to back out and keep going… another Aston Martin in the wall. he has made it back to the pits, though.
02:59 PM Q2 – Top 10 and gaps after the first quick laps
In the drop zone: HAM, OCO, RIC, ZHO, BOT
Leclerc’s lap left some time out there as he lost the rear on putting his foot down at turn 16. Would have cost him at least a tenth or two…
02:56 PM Q2 – And Sainz does beat it to go fastest!
Leclerc is coming along now… but he is down on his team-mate, by 0.094s!
02:56 PM Q2 – Hamilton only ninth…
As Russell goes into the top four for now. Sainz likely to beat that, though.
02:55 PM Q2 – Perez crosses the line with a 1:42.258
Verstappen makes up more time in the final sector to go faster by 0.031s. It’s tight at Red Bull.
Gasly into third, within a second, Vettel fourth and Tsunoda fifth. Ricciardo well adrift in seventh.
What can Hamilton and Russell do?
02:54 PM Q2 – Perez sets a 35.893 in S1
That’s a couple of tenths, nearly, ahead of Verstappen.
A 41.263 om sector two for the Mexican but Verstappen beats it by a tenth…
02:51 PM Q2 begins – 15 mins to go
10 drivers to go through, five to go out.
02:50 PM Albon not happy with Alonso on the final lap
He said he was driving so slowly and drove up the escape road on purpose. He made it through, remember.
02:49 PM Watch: The Stroll crash that caused the red flag 02:48 PM Q1 – Top 10 and gaps
Also through: HAM, ALO, NOR, RIC, BOT
02:46 PM Q1 – Drivers eliminated
16. MAG
17. ALB
18. LAT
19. STR
20. MSC
Another fine performance from Albon. Six-tenths ahead of Latifi. As it has been most of the year.
02:46 PM Q1 ends – Bottas does make it through
Those behind him on track and in the order fail to improve.
02:45 PM Q1 – Hamilton not on an excellent lap so far
Gasly is, though. Hamilton has improved in the second sector, however, so should improve.
Hamilton crosses the line to stay ninth, though he does improve. Russell improves to sixth. Gasly into fifth.
Yellow flags in sector two, who is it? Alonso, I think.
Bottas into 15th for now but will that be enough? It might be you know.
02:43 PM Q1 – One minute remains
Who will or won’t get a lap in? Schumacher has told he needs to “push like hell” to get across the line. Actually, everyone is going to get a lap in here. Ignore what I said earlier. It was quite a frantic and quick lap, but not sure those at the end of the line will get a clean lap in…
02:42 PM GREEN FLAG: Q1 resumes
Two minutes and 30 seconds left. I think maybe half these cars will get a lap in. And half won’t. That is how halves work, yes. This is going to get a bit aggy…
02:40 PM Q1 – “Without a tow I’m going to be in trouble,” Hamilton says
I think he’s safe here. I don’t think enough cars behind him a) have the pace and b) will be able to get a hot lap in, given Hamilton can control the pace at the front initially.
02:36 PM Q1 – SESSION TO RESUME IN FIVE MINUTES
There are already about 10 or 12 cars queuing up now with Mercedes at the front.
02:36 PM Q1 – Order under the red flag
There are 2:30 remaining on the clock. Which is just about enough time for some drivers to get in another lap… but not everyone.
MAG +1.921
DROP ZONE:
02:33 PM Q1 – It’s an unforced error by Stroll at turn two
He went in too hot and slid into the barriers on the exit. I don’t think he went into the pits to change his tyres, nor his front wing. Could that have caused him problems? Anyway, it’s another big error from a man who seems to be making too many of them at the moment.
02:32 PM Q1 – RED FLAG
His front wing is off the track, his front right is finished but still attached. Has he hit the wall again or did his front wing fail underneath him causing a crash? Not sure. It’s all a bit of a mess.
02:31 PM Q1 – Drivers in the elimination zone
16. ALB
17. BOT
18. LAT
19. STR
20. MSC
Bottas struggling here. Zhou doing very well in sixth as Vettel goes fifth.
02:30 PM Q1 – Hamilton into eighth with his fastest lap
Still a tenth or so off Russell.
Stroll locks up and slides into the barriers at turn eight. He will need a new front wing but manages to reverse out and carry on…
02:30 PM Q1 – Top 10 and gaps
Hamilton on another hot lap… it looks better.
02:28 PM Q1 – Red Bull going even better here
Ferrari opted to do one cool-down lap before doing another hot lap, Red Bull have done two cool-down laps.
Perez crosses the line to go fastest by 0.132s. Can Verstappen beat that? He can and he does… 0.011s quicker than his team-mate.
02:26 PM Q1 – Ferraris on their second laps here
Sainz moves second, 0.019s off Verstappen. Can Leclerc beat that? Yes he can, he goes fastest of anyone. 0.073s ahead of Verstappen. It’s tight between the top three now.
Vettel had a lock up and went straight on at turn three, I think.
02:24 PM Q1 – Top 10 at the moment
In the drop zone: ALB, LAT, STR, MSC, BOT (NO TIME)
02:23 PM Q1 – 11 mins remain
Russell goes fourth with a decent time, ahead of Sainz. But still a long way off Verstappen. 0.843s to be precise. Leclerc had slotted into third, just 0.027s off Perez in second.
02:22 PM Q1 – Verstappen sets the pace early on
His time is 0.260s quicker than team-mate Perez. Sainz third, but nearly a second off the pace. Hamilton seventh, a whole 1.5s off Verstappen. Not really sure what happened to Russell, looks like he aborted his lap.
A bit of positioning hassle between Russell and Verstappen when they were setting their laps up.
02:21 PM Q1 – Ocon quickest after the first four runners
His lap of 1:44.297 puts him ahead of Alonso, Gasly, Norris and Mick Schumacher.
Verstappen going well, around a second up on Hamilton after two sectors. This is going to be a tasty time.
02:19 PM Q1 – Hamilton complaining of a soft brake pedal
Norris will be the first man to set a lap time.
02:17 PM Q1 – 17 mins to go
It’s a slooooow release from the pit lane. Hamilton is still sitting there a minute later, with a few cars remaining ahead of him.
02:16 PM GREEN LIGHT: Q1 begins
18 minutes. 20 drivers, 15 through and five go out.
02:15 PM A few cars are out in the pit lane already
Keen.
A chance of red flags here, always, so that makes sense. Get your banker in.
02:12 PM Under five minutes to go now
Predictions? Will Mattia Binotto be correct? Will it be a Red Bull on pole? And which one? I am going for Perez on pole here.
02:06 PM Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is speaking to Sky Sports F1
I think he will get on pole today. I think in FP3 they have been very strong this morning. Having said that it’s very tight, it’s a matter of a tenth or two. Let’s try to build the lap time. I think we will certainly do out best.
He says he won’t plan for his drivers to give each other slipstreams. It is powerful on the straight but can cause problems in the first part of the track. It might happen by accident, though, he says.
02:04 PM Some work going on in the Mercedes garages
On both cars. Possibly some issues due to kerb usage. I sincerely doubt there is any risk of them not making the session.
02:00 PM Timings could be a problem if the session is crash-packed
Let’s hope it is not…
Or, at least, let us hope we can get it done in a reasonable amount of time. 15 minutes to go…
01:53 PM A reminder about our new F1 newsletter – The Racing Line
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01:47 PM This is interesting…
Well, I think it is. Says a bit about how Verstappen is (relatively) struggling and Perez is in fine form. The car just seems to suit his optimal driving style a bit more.
01:43 PM Qualifying head-to-heads so far this year 
Leclerc, Albon and Bottas all with 100 per cent records over their team-mates. Will they be able to continue that today? It looks like it…
01:38 PM It is a bit of a weird track here
But it can provide good racing, is a challenge for the drivers and also leads to some pretty neat photos over the weekend.
Though he did actually switch to it in Monaco mid-race stoppage last time.
He has only won once here in five attempts and that was fairly fortunate as Bottas had a late puncture in 2018.
01:28 PM A quick reminder that the session start time is delayed by 15 mins
That is after a barrier repair caused by an F2 crash earlier on. I don’t know why they didn’t just shorten FP3 by 15 minutes but here we are.
01:25 PM Lewis Hamilton in fresh spat with FIA president but Mercedes woes continue in Baku
Lewis Hamilton has told the ruler of Formula One’s governing body that he will not be silenced and encouraged his fellow drivers to be more outspoken, but the seven-time world champion suffered another woeful day in practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Read more of that here, as Phil Duncan reports.
01:20 PM F1 teams’ raw pace ranking so far this season
This measures, on average, how teams have performed in qualifying by setting their best time in the session against the overall quickest and expressing it as a percentage. So, in a theoretical 100-second pole lap, a lap that was one minute and one second would get a percentage of 101.000.
Incidentally, the pole lap here will be not too far off 100 seconds.
01:16 PM Current constructor standings
Ferrari have dropped the ball in recent races. Mercedes’ gap to the top two teams is just getting bigger and bigger.
Every team has scored at least a point, though, which is good at this stage of the season.
01:12 PM Toto Wolff speaking to Sky Sports F1 about where Mercedes are
I think there is no such thing as a concept. Cars’ performances are dependent on many areas. It’s just about dissecting where the problems lie and targeting each of those areas with calmness and focus.
I think we want to keep the optimism whilst also managing our expectations. I think we went to Monaco or Baku with higher expectations than we should have had, but equally I don’t want to reduce them for other tracks [that should suit our car].
01:08 PM Ferrari suffering from some extreme bouncing on the long straight in Baku 01:04 PM Current drivers’ championship standings: Top 12 12:59 PM Final times after third practice
12:50 PM Verstappen encountered some traffic towards the end of the session
He probably could have gone a fair bit quicker. He had to back off for yellow flags earlier in the session, too.
12:40 PM Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to our coverage for the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. It’s the fifth edition of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but actually the sixth time a grand prix has been held at this track as in 2016 it was billed as the European Grand Prix. Is Azerbaijan in Europe? Partly. Is Baku? Not really? But then again we had the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola and the Luxembourg Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and that is at least 80km away from Luxembourg. So there you go.
So far the running has been fairly what we have come to expect from this season, with Ferrari and Red Bull leading the way with little really to separate their four drivers. Sergio Perez – a winner in Monaco last time out – was fastest in final practice, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.070s. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull, 0.279s away from his team-mate and Carlos Sainz was fourth, just over four-tenths away from Perez.
The Mexican has traditionally gone well at this circuit and has found his feet and his form at Red Bull this season, after a tricky and inconsistent year in 2021. Verstappen is finding the car less to his liking and the disparity this season is just 15 points in the standings (albeit not fully reflective given it’s two DNFs to one) and it’s 5-2 in qualifying. In percentage terms, Perez is just adrift of Verstappen by 0.165 per cent in qualifying. That is much improved from last year.
Mercedes struggles have continued in Baku. The bouncing is still there and there is also a significant straight-line deficit. George Russell made it into the top 10, albeit 1.4s off the pace, with Lewis Hamilton down in 12th, 1.6s off Perez’s quickest time. That podium challenge in Spain does not look like it is kick-starting their season just yet.
Lando Norris impressed again, in fifth and Daniel Ricciardo was right behind him for once, within a tenth of a second.
Qualifying’s start time has been delayed by 15 minutes due to FP3 being delayed by the same start time due to a barrier repair that was required after a crash in Formula 2 earlier in the day. So it’s a very late start of 3.15pm BST. Will it be another Leclerc pole?