Charles Leclerc (Photo Credit: AP)
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc took the pole position in qualifying while Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the Top 3.
Ferrari came out on top once again in the qualifying to get a second straight pole. Charles Leclerc came out on top in the qualifying on Saturday for the second race running, even though he had to pull out of the race last time due to his crash. Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton finished second while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ended on the third spot. Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly came fourth while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the fifth spot.
Verstappen leads Hamilton by four points in the drivers’ championship after winning in Monaco last time out.
Q3 was halted with a minute remaining when Gasly’s teammate, Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda, crashed at turn three, with Carlos Sainz in the following Ferrari taking quick avoding action, locking his wheels and smashing into a safety barrier
Leclerc was on course to confirm Ferrari’s return to form after their woeful 2020 when he qualified fastest in Monaco but crashed at the end of Q1 in his home race.
He then suffered the heartache of having to retire before taking his place on the grid when his car broke down on the formation lap.
Carlos Sainz, who finished second to Verstappen in Monaco, starts from the third row in Baku alongside Lando Norris in the McLaren, although the British driver could be hit with a grid penalty for failing to obey red flag protocol.
(With AFP inputs)
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