Pole position awaits for Leclerc who had a good race in qualifying. Bottas had to settle for fourteenth place.
F1 qualifying in Baku is over and the top three were not surprising. As in the practice session, it was Leclerc, Verstappen and Perez who were fastest. But during Friday’s qualifying, it wasn’t Verstappen who was clocked for the winning time.
– It’s always tough to get the whole lap to flap here. You are forced to drive on the limit and it is not the easiest, he says about the race.
Instead, it was Charles Leclerc who drew the longer straw during qualifying. With the victory, Leclerc gets to start from pole position for the first time this season.
– I am really surprised. Before the weekend, our goal was to stay ahead of Aston Martin and Mercedes in qualifying, now it was pole position, he says.
Leclerc, who has had a tough start to the season, is still looking at this weekend’s races from a realistic perspective.
– You should not forget that we are probably slower than Red Bull in the races. The goal is to keep them behind us.
Bottas fourteenth
During the practice session, Valtteri Bottas drove into thirteenth place, which did not differ much from the qualifying result. In qualifying, Bottas finished in fourteenth place.
Results
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 1.40,203
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0,188
3. Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.292
4. Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.813
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +0,974
14. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
