Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc clinched pole position for 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix following a dramatic Qualifying session.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez topped FP3 as the Austrian constructor and Ferrari battled hard across both FP3 and Qualifying, with the Scuderia’s Leclerc eventually winning out by 0.282 seconds to claim pole position for the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Perez settled for second on the grid ahead of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz as both teams look to continue their monopoly within races this season, whilst the midfield fight looks super competitive on a track where anything could happen.
Now here is a full roundup of FP3 and Qualifying in Baku.
FP3
Following a 15 minute delay to the session due to heavy barrier damage after a final lap crash in F2’s Sprint Race, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was first out on track in a quiet start to the running.
Mercedes’ George Russell though was the first driver to set the first representative lap time with 1m 47.256 in the 13th minute, as soft tyres and tyre cooling strategies dominated much of the opening stints across the entire grid.
Sainz and Leclerc swiftly displaced Russell in the following minutes with the Monegasque going fastest with 1m 45.260, ahead of Sainz by 1.197 seconds.
Sainz regained the lead in the 21st minute with 1m 44.744 after he had been displaced by Perez just two minutes earlier, only for Leclerc to respond two minutes later with 1m 44.661 to go top which was bettered a minute later by Perez who went 0.245s quicker.
Verstappen meanwhile was the last of the frontrunners to venture out onto the circuit and went second on his first attempt – albeit 0.052s slower than Perez.
Sainz and Leclerc immediately responded to being pushed down the order by Verstappen as they went fastest, with Leclerc posting 1m 43.514 to go top at the half-hour mark ahead of Perez who regained second from Sainz.
Verstappen meanwhile pitted briefly but replied with 1m 43.653 in the 33rd minute to go second ahead of the Qualifying simulations.
Nicholas Latifi was the first driver to attempt his Qualifying simulation in the 42nd minute which put him 10th in the order, with the order rapidly changing about those in midfield.
Up top, Leclerc lowered his benchmark to 1m 43.240 in the 48th minute which was only bettered by Perez, as the Mexican posted 1m 43.170 five minutes later to top the session by 0.070s with Verstappen and Sainz settling for third and fourth as 0.426s separated the top four at the checkered flag.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1m 43.170 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.070 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.279 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.426 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 1.248 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 1.306 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 1.321 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 1.403 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 1.515 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.519 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 1.672 |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 1.675 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.709 |
| 14 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 1.743 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 1.749 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 1.794 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 2.309 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 2.362 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 2.404 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 2.900 |
Qualifying
Q1
McLaren’s Lando Norris led a queue of cars out onto circuit and proceeded to set the benchmark lap time of 1m 45.061, which was quickly bettered by Fernando Alonso then Esteban Ocon as the latter posted 1m 44.297 to go top.
Perez soon afterwards displaced Ocon but was himself displaced by Verstappen moments later as the reigning champion posted 1m 42.938 to go top, which he lowered to 1m 42.722 on his second flier just 0.011s ahead of Perez and enough to top Q1.
Down in the elimination zone at half-way mark of the session, the bottom five compromised of; Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Nicholas Latifi, Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher.
Stroll however caused a red flag with 2 minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock after he crashed heavily at Turn Two to destroy his front wing and front-right tyre, despite having already hit the barriers at Turn Seven on his previous lap.
The session resumed 10 minutes later with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Russell first out on track ahead of a frantic queue of cars looking to start a final flying lap and beat the checkered flag, of which everyone who ventured back out managed to achieve.
Once the checkered flag fell, only Bottas escaped elimination as at the expense of Kevin Magnussen, as Albon, Latifi, Stroll and Schumacher also were knocked out.
Q2
Red Bull were first out on track with Perez venturing out ahead of Verstappen as cars looked to create clear space ahead of their opening Q2 flying laps.
Perez set a benchmark lap time of 1m 42.258 but Verstappen went 0.031s quicker although both drivers were soon displaced by Sainz, as the Spaniard posted 1m 42.088 to place himself top ahead of Ferrari teammate – Leclerc by 0.094s.
The elimination zone meanwhile compromised of Hamilton, Ocon, and Daniel Ricciardo plus Guanyu Zhou and Bottas, although the latter pair hadn’t ventured out for the opening stint as they instead opted to run their first flying laps in the gap.
Sebastian Vettel meanwhile locked up and lightly crashed into the outside barriers at Turn 15 in the eighth minute, yet was able to calmly reverse and recover to the pits without a red flag.
Two minutes later, Perez who had opted for two cooldown laps went fastest with 1m 41.955 before Zhou and Bottas a further two minutes later failed to improve on their positions in the elimination zone, having ran their first fliers later in the session than other drivers.
Come the checkered flag, Hamilton escaped elimination as he finished sixth-fastest at expense of his fellow Brit – Lando Norris who qualified 11th ahead of Ricciardo, Ocon, Zhou and Bottas.
Q3
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was first out on track in Q3 with everyone but Sainz, Leclerc, Perez and Verstappen opting for used tyres, which left the four contenders to battle it out for early psychological advantage in the battle for pole.
Sainz came out on top in that early fight with 1m 41.814 ahead of Leclerc, Perez and Verstappen as the quartet were split by 0.175s, with Gasly heading the rest of field in fifth ahead of Russell, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda.
Once the checkered flag fell, it was Leclerc who emerged victorious to clinch his fourth consecutive pole position, as he topped Qualifying with 1m 41.359 ahead of Perez, Verstappen, Sainz, Russell, Gasly, Hamilton, Tsunoda., Vettel and Alonso.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m 41.359 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.282 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.347 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.455 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 1.353 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 1.486 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 1.565 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 1.697 |
| 9 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.732 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 1.814 |
| 11 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1m 43.398 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 0.176 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 0.187 |
| 14 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 0.392 |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 1.046 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1m 44.643 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.076 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 0.724 |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.728 |
| 20 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 1.132 |
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