5
Valtteri Bottas has taken pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, beating teammate Lewis Hamilton to the top spot.
Hamilton ended the session less than a tenth down on the Finn, while Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari.
There was only one Ferrari competing in the final qualifying session, as Charles Leclerc crashed out at Turn 8 during Q2, eliminating himself after locking up.
There were two red flags during the session, one of which was caused by Leclerc, who admitted fault for the crash.
At the end of Q1, Robert Kubica hit the barrier at the same place Leclerc would crash, continuing Williams' miserable weekend.
Hamilton held the provisional pole spot after the first round of laps in Q3, but lost out to his teammate in the dying moments, with all of the top three improving their times.
Max Verstappen set his two fast laps in succession without pitting and held a front row spot before being pipped by Bottas and Vettel. The Dutchman will start the race from fourth on the grid.
Verstappen's teammate Pierre Gasly didn't advance beyond Q2, as he will start from the pit lane on Sunday for breaching regulations regarding the weigh bridge on Friday afternoon.
Gasly managed to top the opening qualifying session, but didn't set a timed lap in Q2. Sergio Perez was P5, and he will share the third row with Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso.
Lando Norris was the sole McLaren in the final stage of qualifying, and secured P7 for the start of Sunday's race.
Antonio Giovinazzi took his best ever result in qualifying, as he finished eighth, ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
Giovinazzi received a strong tow from Vettel at both the start and end of his lap to out-qualify Raikkonen for the first time this season. However, he will start towards the back due to a 10-place grid penalty he picked up for taking on a third control electronics.
Renault and Haas struggled again, as Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean failed to advance out of the first session, joining the two Williams' and Lance Stroll in the drop zone.
Baku City Circuit - 27 April 2019
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Replies (5)
Login to replyabhidbgt
Posts: 119
Entertaining session - definitely but satisfying not so much. When will Ferrari catch a break!
Mercedes carry Sahara desert in their pockets it seems. I mean come on this is becoming ridiculous! It might turn out to be their most dominant season yet.
I admit if Leclerc was still in session it may have been a different story. He generally had close to 3 tenths in him over Vettel.
It might turn out to be a processional race at the top too just like Chinese grand prix. I so hope I am wrong and Mercedes for a change have a bit of bad luck. But the efficiency with which they operate, it is extremely unlikely.
calle.itw
Posts: 6,948
Agreed. We can only hope for a safery car and maybe for Max and Vet to cause some trouble for the Mercs.
abhidbgt
Posts: 119
Amen
abhidbgt
Posts: 119
Well it feels like I am a clairvoyant. :D
Pistonhead
Posts: 115
Have to say the picture at the top of this thread is extraordinary.... well done to whomever took it.
It's going to be a phenomenal GP, watch LEC and VER go - I predict they will be battling at some point early.
Ferrari need a really strong showing as another 1-2 will present a daunting come-back ask - reliability issues aren't normally things Merc suffer with, if they don't win here today it's going to be a long haul for them to catch up.
Watch for HAM's start - he seems to have found something on starts he didn't have last season.