Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed pole for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
Leclerc continued his strong pace from Friday Practice as he finished second to George Russell in FP3, before mastering Qualifying to snatch a fourth consecutive pole on the streets of Baku.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri qualified second to split the Ferrari pair following a competitive Qualifying hour, which saw Piastri’s teammate – Lando Norris unexpectedly knocked out in Q1.
FP3
A quiet start to FP3 saw Red Bull’s Sergio Perez head straight out but nobody was interested in quickly setting fast laps, although the red flags came out in the 15th minute after Alpine’s Esteban Ocon stopped at Turn 17 with a faulty fuel pump.
The session resumed ten minutes later with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri the first driver to set a representative lap time of 1m 45.476.
Williams’ Alex Albon however set the pace with 1m 44.371 once the majority of drivers set a lap time, but the red flags were back out in the 33rd minute after Haas’ Oliver Bearman stopped at Turn 1 after he ran too deep and hit the barriers.
Following a quick clear-up, the action recommenced six minutes later with Lando Norris first to displace Albon, followed by Leclerc then Sergio Perez as the Mexican went top with 1m 43.389.
Leclerc responded with seven minutes left as he posted 1m 42.564, yet Mercedes’ Russell snatched the fastest lap with under two minutes left as he produced 1m 42.514 to top the session from the Monegasque.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m 42.514 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.013 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.223 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.235 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.348 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.454 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.510 |
| 8 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.680 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Williams | + 0.724 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.787 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 0.960 |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | + 0.989 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.057 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | + 1.356 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.362 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | + 1.650 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | + 1.673 |
| 18 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | + 2.355 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | No Time |
| 20 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | No Time |
Qualifying
Q1
Hulkenberg was first out on track and set a benchmark 1m 45.473 which was quickly usurped, with Perez setting the initial pace on 1m 43.436.
Once everyone set a representative lap time after Hamilton and Sainz posted scruffy opening laps, the elimination zone comprised of; Ocon, Russell, Bottas, Ricciardo and Zhou with five minutes left.
At the checkered flag, Ocon qualified slowest behind Zhou – who though will start last on the grid due to a power unit change, whilst Bottas is 18th just behind title contender – Norris who suffered a shock Q1 exit in 17th position due to yellow flags.
Ricciardo too missed out and will start 16th in an opening segment topped by Leclerc with 1m 42.775.
Q2
Leclerc was first out on track and set the first timed benchmark lap of 1m 43.422 on used soft tyres, but Sainz went 0.197 seconds quicker.
Once everyone had set at least one lap time, Verstappen set the pace on 1m 42.042 on fresh soft tyres ahead of Perez and Piastri, whilst the bottom five contained; Colapinto, Alonso, Gasly. Tsunoda and Stroll.
Colapinto and Alonso however escaped the drop at the checkered flag in sixth and fifth positions respectively, as Bearman managed to again qualify 11th on his second substitute appearance of the season.
Tsunoda, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Stroll qualified in positions 12-15 on the grid respectively.
Q3
Russell and Hamilton were the first pair to venture out for their opening Q3 laps, with Russell setting a benchmark 1m 41.962 which was quickly beaten by Piastri on used softs with 1m 41.827.
Leclerc however went on provisional pole with 1m 41.610 ahead of Sainz as Ferrari eyed a front-row lockout, with Piastri sat third ahead of; Russell, Perez, Verstappen, Hamilton, Albon, Colapinto and Alonso.
Nobody however hung around but amidst the frenetic hurry, Williams left the airbox on top of Albon’s car, but he was able to stop at the pit exit and remove it himself without causing a red flag.
Leclerc ultimately couldn’t be beaten as he took pole by 0.321s from Piastri with Sainz and Perez on the second row, ahead of Russell who clinched the Mercedes Qualifying head-to-head, as Hamilton qualified seventh with Verstappen sixth.
Alonso, Colapinto and Albon rounded out the top ten.
Post session, those who qualified from 14th downwards were promoted a position after Gasly was disqualified after he breached Article 5.2.3 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which saw him exceed the limit of the instantaneous fuel mass flow.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m 41.365 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.321 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.440 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.448 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.509 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.658 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.924 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.004 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Williams | + 1.165 |
| 10 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.494 |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1m 42.968 |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | + 0.067 |
| DSQ | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 0.211 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | + 0.223 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.436 |
| 15 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1m 43.547 |
| 16 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.062 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | + 0.071 |
| 18 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | + 0.699 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 0.957 |
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