Saturday, June 11, 2022. 11:28
BAKU, Azerbaijan – Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is hoping to break the bad spell that has plagued him for the past few races, after taking the lead in qualifying for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Azerbaijan on Saturday.
Leclerc clocked a time of one minute and 41.359 seconds on the Baku street circuit. He thus clinched his sixth leading position this season in F1, and his fourth in a row.
“Ah, it’s wonderful!, exclaimed the main interested party. I didn’t expect to set the best time because the Red Bulls were very fast, but I’m satisfied. I can’t wait for tomorrow (Sunday); tire management will be very important here. We have increased our pace on the track, so the race could be very interesting. »
The Monegasque slashed 0.282 seconds off Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s time, while overall leader Red Bull driver Max Verstappen followed in third place more than three-tenths of a second behind.
“I had a good start to the flying lap, but then I made a few small mistakes. However, we will get a good chance to win tomorrow, as our team will start from second and third place on the grid,” said Verstappen, the reigning world champion.
For his part, the Mexican confided that a technical glitch had however prevented him from dislodging Leclerc in the last moments of the qualifying session.
“Yeah, I gave it my all in Q3 and touched the barriers a few times,” Perez said. And towards the end I experienced engine trouble, which we couldn’t get rid of, and I was alone without any suction phenomenon. Who knows how long (I lost)? Would this gap have allowed me to get the lead position? Who knows? »
Leclerc’s teammate at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz Jr., was fourth fastest, ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.
Pierre Gasly, driving his Alpha Tauri, took sixth place, ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Briton conceded 1.565 seconds off Leclerc’s time, largely due to the Silver Arrows’ continuing porpoising issues.
Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) followed in eighth place on the starting grid, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who missed turn 7 in Q2 and brushed the wall at the wheel of his Aston Martin without inflicting any damage to his single-seater.
Fernando Alonso, at Alpine, completed the top-10.
Perez, who triumphed in the last round in Monaco, had set the best time in the last free practice session earlier in the morning.
Verstappen tops the drivers standings with 125 points, nine ahead of Leclerc. Perez is third at 110, ahead of Russell (84) and Sainz Jr. (83).
Nightmarish session for Stroll
It was another tough qualifying session for Lance Stroll.
As he tried to improve his time in the final moments of Q1, the Quebecer pushed his Aston Martin a little too much and suffered a similar exit from the track as his teammate Vettel at turn 7.
Stroll still managed to pull back and get back on track. However, a few bends later, he hit another crash barrier head-on. This time, the wing and the right front suspension took most of the shock, preventing him from completing the session.
Stroll should therefore start from 19th place on Sunday, provided his team is able to repair his car in time for the race.
For his part, the Torontonian Nicholas Latifi did little better. The Williams driver was content with the 18th fastest time. The two representatives of the maple leaf will therefore start from the bottom of the grid.
Only Haas driver Mick Schumacher did worse than them in qualifying, which means he will start at the back of the field.