Event: Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix
Track: Baku street circuit
Weather: dry 27.0-26.1°C
Tarmac: dry 37.9-33.1°C
Humidity: 37-33%
Wind: 6.4-3.9 km/h South
Charles Leclerc qualified as quickest for the 26th time today. The Ferrari driver scored his fourth Baku pole position for tomorrow's 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It was the third pole of the season for the Monegasque driver and the 251st pole for the Ferrari team.
Leclerc Secures Fourth Consecutive Baku Pole as Piastri Pushes Ferrari in Tight Qualifying
Q1: Early Surprises as Norris and Ricciardo Exit
The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session kicked off under clear skies in Baku, with temperatures playing a significant role in tire management. As the green light signaled the start of Q1, all eyes were on the usual suspects, but surprises were in store early on.
Lando Norris, struggling to find pace throughout the session, was shockingly eliminated in Q1 alongside Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Esteban Ocon. McLaren had a tough start with Norris exiting early, while Oscar Piastri carried the team’s hopes. Williams also had a mixed session, with Alex Albon managing to squeeze into Q2 despite a brief scare with an air fan left attached to his car.
Max Verstappen, though safe, was far from comfortable, as his Red Bull struggled with rear-end instability, causing a few off-track moments that hampered his time.
Q2: Bearman Shines as Haas Miss Out
Q2 saw tighter competition as drivers pushed their cars to the limit in the winding streets of Baku. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz looked strong throughout, setting competitive times that put them firmly in the top ranks. However, it was rookie Oliver Bearman who caught attention, narrowly missing out on Q3 with an impressive 11th place for Haas, outperforming his teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll were also eliminated in Q2, while both Williams cars, with Colapinto and Albon, advanced to the top 10 shootout, showing remarkable improvement in their pace. Mercedes appeared to struggle slightly, with Lewis Hamilton barely scraping through to Q3 in 8th place, while George Russell showed better form.
Q3: Leclerc Dominates as Piastri Pushes for Pole
The final segment of qualifying was all about Ferrari and McLaren, with Charles Leclerc continuing his Baku dominance by securing his fourth consecutive pole position at the Azerbaijan circuit. Leclerc’s lap time of 1m 41.365s was three-tenths quicker than his closest challenger, Oscar Piastri, who pulled out an incredible lap to secure second on the grid for McLaren.
Carlos Sainz settled for third place, with Sergio Perez in fourth, followed by Russell and Verstappen, who could only manage sixth after struggling to find grip. The Dutchman’s time was compromised by a slide at Turn 16, making his task for tomorrow’s race even more challenging.
Despite a strong showing in practice, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton could only manage seventh place, just behind Verstappen, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Williams' rookie Franco Colapinto completed the top 10.
Conclusion: An Exciting Race Awaits
With Leclerc on pole and both Ferraris in prime positions to challenge, tomorrow’s race promises to be one of strategy and tire management. Piastri’s form and McLaren’s improving race pace add an extra layer of excitement, while Verstappen will be looking for damage control from sixth on the grid.
As the lights go out tomorrow, the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix could be pivotal in shaking up the championship standings, with Ferrari eyeing a potential double podium and Red Bull facing their first real challenge of the season.
The fastest sector times during this quali for the 2024 Azerbaijan F1 GP were:
- Sector 1: 35.649 sec. by Sergio Pérez, Red Bull RB20.
- Sector 2: 40.813 sec. by Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24.
- Sector 3: 24.524 sec. by Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24.
The pole position time of last season in Baku was a 1:41.697 min driven by Charles Leclerc the Ferrari SF-23.
Quali Times 2024 Azerbaijan GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:42.775 | 1:42.056 | 1:41.365 | 20 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:43.033 | 1:42.598 | 1:41.686 | 19 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:43.357 | 1:42.503 | 1:41.805 | 23 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1:43.213 | 1:42.263 | 1:41.813 | 15 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:43.139 | 1:42.329 | 1:41.874 | 20 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:43.097 | 1:42.042 | 1:42.023 | 20 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43.089 | 1:42.765 | 1:42.289 | 22 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:43.472 | 1:42.426 | 1:42.369 | 19 |
| 9 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams | 1:43.138 | 1:42.473 | 1:42.530 | 20 |
| 10 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:42.899 | 1:42.840 | 1:42.859 | 19 |
| 11 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:43.471 | 1:42.968 | 14 | |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:43.337 | 1:43.035 | 16 | |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:43.088 | 1:43.179 | 15 | |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 1:43.101 | 1:43.191 | 14 | |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:43.370 | 1:43.404 | 14 | |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Racing Bulls | 1:43.547 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:43.609 | 7 | ||
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:43.618 | 7 | ||
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:44.246 | 10 | ||
| 20 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:44.504 | 8 |
✅ Check out our 2024 Azerbaijan F1 GP preview
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Wonder if Lando blocks Piastri when Oscar laps him?
Most likely, no one will get lapped, given how high-numbered the average race trim lap time range for the fastest teams will be this year.
Wauw! both Williams cars in Q3 and Albon being beat by rookie Colapinto!
Albon didn't get a second flying lap in Q3, though, but still a good achievement.
Happy days are here again for Rb
They've been gone for a while or roughly since the Austrian GP at the very latest.