Charles Leclerc won his second consecutive F1 pole position, again under the red flag because one of several crashes Saturday stopped qualifying, to earn the top starting spot for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Leclerc set his time of 1 minute, 41.218 seconds early in the third session. Championship leader Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were among the drivers just starting their late flying laps when Yuki Tsunoda hit the wall and then Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz crashed right behind Tsunoda.
It brought an immediate end to the session and put Leclerc on pole for the second consecutive grand prix.
It was Leclerc who crashed his Ferrari to end qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago. Though he retained his starting position at his home track, he didn’t race because repairs to his car were not completed in time.
“It feels very good, on the other hand, it was with a red flag again, so I wish we had it under normal track, but at the end a pole is a pole,” Leclerc said.
Tsunoda’s crash brought out the fourth red flag of the qualifying session and stopped any challenge to Leclerc.
Hamilton was 0.232 seconds off the pace in second – a rebound after Mercedes had struggled to match Red Bull and Ferrari in practice. Verstappen took third, 0.113 seconds back.
Lance Stroll and Antonio Giovinazzi both went off at the same corner in the first qualifying session before setting a time, and Daniel Ricciardo crashed in the second session. The Australian is in his first season with McLaren but has finished behind teammate Lando Norris in four of five races so far this year.
Earlier Saturday morning in final practice, F1 points leader Max Verstappen crashed as Pierre Gasly set the fastest time.
Verstappen ran wide on a narrow left-hand corner in the old town section while pushing to match the pace of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. The low-speed impact with the barrier on the exit broke the suspension on Verstappen’s car.
The session was stopped so Verstappen’s stranded car could be recovered. The Dutch driver was visibly frustrated to have his preparation for Saturday’s qualifying session disrupted and placed 15th from limited running.
