Charles Leclerc took pole position again on the Baku street circuit, where he feels like a fish in water. Lando Norris had a terrible Saturday, not even making it out of the first segment.
Q1
Qualifying started calmly, but several drivers showed a high degree of risk and going very close to the walls quite early. The first runs were won by Perez, who was better than both Ferraris. The McLarens started calmly.
The Williamses, on the other hand, had a strong start, hanging around in the top 10. 9 minutes before the end of Q1, Colapinto got between two red cars. Shortly afterwards, two Mercedes drivers jumped in.
According to Pirelli’s announcements, the track evolution was to be expected, which heralded a shake-up. This was confirmed by Bottas, who in his usually embarrassingly weak Sauber split the two McLarens.
The following did not receive promotion: Ricciardo, Norris, Bottas, Zhou i Ocon.
Q2
In the second segment, the Red Bulls initially dominated, taking the lead, before Leclerc separated them towards the end.
The Williams were still in the fight for the top 10, regularly nibbling at the front, but both Haas cars also showed good pace. The absence of Norris freed up an additional place in Q3, which is usually taken, which promised an interesting game.
Tsunoda and Gasly improved, but not as much as Colapinto, who made it into the top 5 and secured the final segment. Bearman also came close, finishing 11th, but after a crash in FP3 he still managed to beat Hulkenberg.
They did not get promoted: Bearman, Tsunoda, Gasly, Hulkenberg i Stroll.
Q3
The pole position seemed wide open and no one was a sure-fire favorite. Russell went under 1:42, but Piastri quickly responded with a better result.
The Ferraris were faster, however, and took 1-2 places in the order Leclerc, Sainz. Verstappen, on the other hand, could only manage to split the Mercedes, and after a moment Perez overtook him. Replays showed that Max made a powerful counterattack in the last corner.
The second attempts could have been ruined by Albon, who was released by Williams with… equipment in the upper air intake. Alex removed the equipment himself, and race control allowed the others to fight under green flags.
Piastri improved his time, but not enough to overtake Leclerc. He lost another tenth and escaped by 0.3 seconds. Only Red Bulls could take P1 from him, but Verstappen was only on P6, and even Perez beat him.
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