Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed his fourth consecutive pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, continuing his dominance in qualifying at the Baku street circuit. Leclerc set a blistering lap of 1:43.365, finishing three-tenths of a second ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, while his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz secured third place.
Despite not having yet won at the Baku circuit, Leclerc’s exceptional single-lap form shone through once again. “It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season,” Leclerc said after securing his 26th career pole, despite early weekend struggles that included a crash in practice.
McLaren’s title contender Lando Norris had a disappointing session, qualifying only 17th after being forced to back off due to a yellow flag, marking his first Q1 elimination since the Las Vegas GP in 2023. This leaves him with an uphill battle in the race, especially as he trails championship leader Max Verstappen by 62 points.
Verstappen, the three-time world champion and current points leader, could only manage sixth place in a session where his recent struggles continued. Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez qualified fourth, just behind Ferrari’s Sainz, while Mercedes’ George Russell took fifth.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh for Mercedes, just behind Russell, with two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin in eighth. Rounding out the top ten were Williams’ Franco Colapinto, who impressed with ninth in his debut season, and his teammate Alex Albon in tenth, despite a bizarre moment where Albon left the pits with an airbox fan still attached to his car.
The result leaves Ferrari and Leclerc in a strong position heading into the race, while Verstappen and Norris face significant challenges in maintaining their title hopes.
