Leclerc puts Ferrari on pole
A serious setback for Lando Norris in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku: The McLaren star did not make it past the first segment after a driving error and an incorrectly assessed yellow flag, which caused him to unnecessarily ease off the accelerator, and will only start from 17th place on Sunday (1 p.m. live on RTL and Sky).
“I saw the yellow flag and stopped the lap,” explains Norris monosyllabically. “We’ll see tomorrow what is still possible.” The Brit is currently 62 points behind world championship leader Max Verstappen. “You can’t play like that if you want to become world champion,” criticizes RTL expert Günther Steiner.
Lando Norris will only start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from 17th place.
Image: LAT / Pirelli
Piastri on starting position two
The poor starting position is all the more annoying as his teammate Oscar Piastri McLaren in second place: “That was probably the dirtyest lap of my life,” he admits.
Only Ferrari star Charles Leclerc is better than the Australian. The Monegasque will pick up where he left off in Baku. Monza with the home win and takes his 26th pole position. In general: Ferrari is strong again, Carlos Sainz finishes in third place.
World champion Max Verstappen is not satisfied. The Dutchman only starts from sixth place on Sunday and is slower than his teammate in qualifying for the first time this season Sergio Perez, who is two tenths of a second faster in fourth place. Verstappen, on the other hand, complains on the radio about the rear end bouncing too much: “I’m nowhere.”
Hülkenberg slower than Bearman
Another setback for the German Nico Hülkenberg: He only puts his Haas in 14th place on the grid, which is worse than his new, young team-mate Oliver Bearman, who is replacing Kevin Magnussen, who is suspended for one race. The Briton finishes eleventh and is 0.2 seconds faster than Hülkenberg.
Nico Hülkenberg only places his Haas on 14th place on the grid.
Image: LAT / Pirelli
“We just lacked a bit of speed,” admits the Emmerich driver. “The second sector wasn’t ideal, I’m not happy with it. I lack a bit of confidence in the car. On a road course, the air quickly gets thin – it’s just not enough.”
He has a lot of praise for Bearman, who will be promoted to Haas’ regular driver in 2025. “Ollie is driving very, very well, and has been since yesterday. He was quick on the pace and has a good feeling in the car.”
Albon drives off with fan
Strange scene at the beginning of the third section: Alex Albon drives off with the cooling fan in front of his airbox and only notices it on the way out of the pit lane onto the track. After all, he is the Formula 1 driver himself: the Williams driver reaches over his head and pushes the device to a track marshal. In the end, however, the incident apparently costs him some speed. His new team-mate Franco Colapinto is around 0.3 seconds faster in ninth place.
Formula 1 Grand Prix of AzerbaijanQualifying, result
1. Charles Leclerc (Monaco) – Ferrari 1:41.365 mins.2. Oscar Piastri (Australia) – McLaren +0.321 sec.3. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spain) – Ferrari +0.4404. Sergio Perez (Mexico) – Red Bull +0.4485. George Russell (Great Britain) – Mercedes +0.5096. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) – Red Bull +0.6587. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) – Mercedes +0.9248. Fernando Alonso (Spain) – AstonMartin +1,0049. Franco Colapinto (Argentina) – Williams +1,16510. Alexander Albon (Thailand) – Williams +1,49411. Oliver Bearman (Great Britain) – Haas 1:42.96812. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan) – Racing Bulls 1:43.03513. Pierre Gasly (France) – Alpine 1:43.17914. Nico Hülkenberg (Emmerich) – Haas 1:43.19115. Lance Stroll (Canada) – Aston Martin 1:43.40416. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) – Racing Bulls 1:43.54717. Lando Norris (Great Britain) – McLaren 1:43.60918. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) – Kick Sauber 1:43.61819. Zhou Guanyu (China) – Kick Clean 1:44.24620. Esteban Ocon (France) – Alpine 1:44.504
