Charles Leclerc seizes his fifteenth Career pole position in Baku. According to Perez, who once again leaves his teammate behind Max Verstappen who was able to take advantage of a trail in the final. With two points against one le Red Bull they will try to attack in the race. Sainz, fourth will have to do an uphill race, chasing the two unleashed bulls.
The king of Pole is Charles
Of 8 races, 6 started with the Monegasque ahead of the pack. A perfect lap in Baku, one that Charles manages to do like no one on the grid. The difference between him “and the others” lies in the 2/3 obtained in the last attempt of Q2021. A real magic. In 1 in Baku the Pole, again by the Monegasque, was done in a time of 41.218:1. This year, with heavier and slower single-seaters, Charles placed her on pole with a time of 41.359:XNUMX. This was the scenario we were also seeing a Monaco, where however Charles' grand lap was interrupted by a red flag in the finale.
The 1-2 the Ferrari he only savored it for an instant, at the end of the session. However, several mistakes by Sainz, in the last attempt, led him to lift his foot, although pole seemed within his reach. "When you think you've reached the limit, you try to cross it. And today I tried to do it but I was wrong. I thought I could be in line with that limit, I'm driving better but I still have to figure out what to do in Q3 to put it on Pole when needed" - these are the “hot” words expressed by Sainz in front of the microphones of sky sports f1. A trust that is being rebuilt, given the many mistakes that have involved him in the last few Grands Prix.
Red Bull on the attack
La Red Bull he is there, virtually on the podium, but once again with the order of the drivers reversed. Sergio Perez from Barcelona he gained more confidence and the results are starting to arrive, although formally the first driver is still Verstappen. Max has less confidence than the Mexican on street circuits and Checo's victory in Monaco, as well as the good performance in Jeddah a few months ago, are proof of this. The team has no interest now in preferring one over the other as long as there is the possibility of being able to count on both to achieve victory. The important thing, however, is that they don't tease each other. In the race they can turn the situation around, taking advantage of speed and numerical superiority.
Flags and traffic: Baku's lethal mix
In Baku the walls touch each other, they kiss and obviously the slightest mistake pays off. The first qualifying flag comes with a first contact of Lance stroll with the barriers in the Q1. The Canadian driver of theAston Martin, grinds a few kilometers before crashing again in turn 2, this time definitively and with more damage. The red flag at the end of the session forced everyone from fifth to sixth position onwards to rush to improve and save themselves. But traffic prevents it. The first to leave the scene are a surprise: both Haas – this is the first qualifying in which no car from the team enters at least Q2 – Stroll, crashed, and the two Williams.
In Q2 the risk of incurring yellow and red flags increases dramatically as drivers get dangerously close to the limit to try and exceed it. Vettel too, like Stroll, hit the wall with his muzzle due to a block. However, the 4-times world champion manages to get back into the race without making the situation worse, as Stroll did instead.
A borderline situation that involved Lewis Hamilton and two o'clock McLaren remained behind the exhaust of the 7 times world champion. Is Norris is Ricciardo, both ruled out in Q2, were limited in part by Hamilton's slow pace which was also taken up by the team. Out even two o'clock Alfa Romeo, with Zhou who places himself in front of his teammate, Valtteri Bottas.
Top 10 in Baku
Once again in the top 5 we find George Russell. Hamilton also manages to get close to his teammate, with a 7th place although he suffered and complained more about the jolts of the car. He places himself between the two Mercedes Pierre Gasly. Excellent result also for the other AlphaTauri, the one of tsunoda who will leave behind his companion and the two silver arrows. Vettel and Alonso close the top 10.
Those eliminated in Q2: Norris (McLaren) 11th – Ricciardo (McLaren) 12th – Ocon (Alpine) 13th – Zhou (Alfa Romeo) 14th – Bottas 15th
Those eliminated in Q1: Magnussen (Haas) 16th – Albon (Williams) 17th – Latifi (Williams) 18th – Stroll (Aston Martin) 19th – Schumacher 20th
