Azerbaijan – Qualifications: the surprise Bottas, the disappointment Leclerc!

The fourth qualifying session of the season took place under pleasant weather, with sunny skies over the urban circuit of Baku, around fifteen degrees in the air and nearly twenty-five degrees on the track. A session with a real favorite: Charles Leclerc, leading both free practice sessions, the first of which was aborted after George Russell’s Williams collided with a manhole cover.

Q1: Haas and Renault in trouble, Gasly like lightning!

On an increasingly fast track, the risk-taking became maximal! Aided by the slipstream of Sergio Pérez’s Racing Point on the main straight, Pierre Gasly made the big move of the moment, with the first place in Q1 and a time of 1:41.335.

For Renault, a gloomy situation, with a very complicated first qualifying session. Struggling with their cars, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg faced multiple wheel lock-ups and went off into the run-off area. The Australian managed to sneak into Q2 at the last minute… unlike his teammate, who finished 18th!

Eliminated for the eighth consecutive time in Q1, Lance Stroll (16th) experienced a nightmare after hitting his left rear wheel against the wall, which also damaged his front wing. More surprisingly, Romain Grosjean also failed, finishing in 17th place, four-tenths behind his teammate Kevin Magnussen.

But the end of the session was marked by a very big crash, that of Robert Kubica. The Pole bounced off the kerb before ending his run against the wall, just before the winding section of the circuit. This accident led to the appearance of the red flag, freezing the performances of the different competitors. Long minutes were then needed to clear the debris of the Williams.

Eliminated in Q1: Lance Stroll, Romain Grosjean, Nico Hülkenberg, George Russell, Robert Kubica

Q2: Leclerc at fault!

The race against time resumed about 15 minutes after the scheduled time. On soft tires, Max Verstappen set the first benchmark with a time of 1:41.388.

On medium tires, the Ferrari drivers were attempting a big gamble: to qualify on an offbeat strategy. It was all in vain for Leclerc, and how! Then in fifth, fast in the first sector, the Monegasque attacked the curb too hard at the entrance of the narrow section of the circuit. The same action as Kubica a few minutes earlier and the same sanction: a head-on crash into the wall! The session was interrupted again to clear the wreckage of the Ferrari. The worst part of the story: Vettel had almost crashed at the same spot! The German was 12th at the time of the interruption, before moving into the top 10 when the session resumed.

Anyway relegated to the back of the grid, Pierre Gasly made the decision not to go out on the track, which notably offered a spot to Antonio Giovinazzi in Q3, the first of his career!

The drivers eliminated in Q2: Sainz, Ricciardo, Magnussen, Albon, Gasly

Q3: Bottas emerges!

The first series of laps clearly favored Lewis Hamilton with a time of 1:40.703. Max Verstappen took second place from Sebastian Vettel, with the two drivers respectively three and four-tenths of a second behind the Briton.

Only six competitors completed a flying lap on this first attempt: Lando Norris, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Kimi Räikkönen stayed in the garage, betting everything on the final lap.

Revanchist, Vettel led the pack to improve his time. Faster in the first sector, the German came back but not enough to unsettle the Mercedes.

Taking advantage of the slipstream from the cars ahead, the Silver Arrows locked out the front row, with a change under the checkered flag… Bottas ahead of Hamilton! Lacking confidence since the start of the weekend, the Finnish driver made the best of it with a time of 1:40.495. Hamilton was beaten by just 59 thousandths. The gap was larger on Vettel, three-tenths! Behind this trio, Verstappen’s Red Bull… and Sergio Pérez’s Racing Point, the Mexican thus positioning himself perfectly to replicate his 2018 podium. The outcome of a crazy session, lasting almost two hours!