Leclerc will face the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole, followed by Hamilton , Verstappen and Pierre Gasly . Carlos Sainz will start fifth ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso ninth after Yuki Tsunoda and ahead of Bottas .
Minute by minute of F1 qualifying in Azerbaijan
15:23 – Red flag for Tsunoda’s accident and new pole for Leclerc
As in the Monaco Grand Prix , an accident caused the session to end early, giving Leclerc pole position. Tsunoda has had an accident and Carlos Sainz has also had to try to avoid him.
15:19 – Sainz fifth and Alonso ninth
There are two minutes to go, the two AlphaTauri set time and Carlos Sainz is fifth and Fernando Alonso ninth. They will both have one last try.
15:16 Hamilton puts up second
Mercedes sacrifices Bottas and gives his slipstream to Hamilton , who climbs to second position. Carlos Sainz falls to fourth position and Alonso to seventh.
15:15 – Pole provisional para Leclerc
First stake and Leclerc sets the best time ahead of Verstappen and Carlos Sainz , who is third. Alonso , sixth for the moment.
15:09 – Q3 begins
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso’s options for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix are at stake. Who will take pole in Baku? In 12 minutes the answer.
15:00 – Red flag for Ricciardo accident
Fernando Alonso escapes. The session is not going to resume and Ocon , Ricciardo , Raikkonen , Russell and Ricciardo are eliminated.
14:58 – Fernando Alonso is tenth
With three minutes remaining. If Vettel , Ocon , Ricciardo , Raikkonen or Russell improve, Fernando Alonso will fall to the elimination zone.
14:56 – Verstappen sets the best time
Right now the two Red Bulls dominate ahead of Hamilton . Fernando Alonso has fallen to ninth position. Right now Esteban Ocon , Tsunoda , Ricciardo , Raikkonen and Russell would be eliminated. Less than six minutes to go.
14:53 Leclerc, Hamilton and Norris make good times
Right now the top five are Sergio Pérez , Hamilton , Leclerc , Carlos Sainz and Verstappen . Fernando Alonso is eighth.
14:51 – Carlos Sainz second and Fernando Alonso fourth
Sergio Pérez is the fastest. Carlos Sainz ahead of Verstappen and Fernando Alonso is behind them.
14:46 – Q2 begins
Fernando Alonso has narrowly escaped in Q1 and will have to improve if he wants to sneak into Q3. The Asturian takes to the track.
14:40 – Q1 ends and Alonso is narrowly saved
Latifi , Mick Schumacher and Mazepin are eliminated along with Giovinazzi and Stroll . Hamilton set the best time in Q1 while Carlos Sainz was fourth. Fernando Alonso was fifteenth. It has been narrowly saved.
14:38 – Hamilton puts first
Right now the top five are Hamilton , Verstappen , Sergio Pérez , Carlos Sainz and Leclerc . Alonso remains thirteenth and Latifi , Mazepin and Mick Schumacher would be eliminated.
14:35 – Fernando Alonso, twelfth
Fernando Alonso , who had improved in the first and in the second sector has had problems in the third. The Mercedes have already marked time and right now Russell , Mazepin and Mick Schumacher would be eliminated.
14:32 Lando Norris, under investigation
Lando Norris , who is one of those called to do great things at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, could be penalized for failing to slow down with the red flag. At the moment it is being investigated.
14:29 – Q1 resumes for the second time
There are 9:22 minutes to go and so far no Mercedes has been able to set the lap. Even so, only three drivers will be eliminated in Q1 after the accidents of Stroll and Giovinazzi .
2:20 pm – Giovinazzi accident, red flag
New incident on the track and new red flag. Antonio Giovinazzi accident that is eliminated along with Lance Stroll .
14:19: Carlos Sainz is already third
Sainz improves Leclerc . And the Red Bulls surpass the Spanish. At the moment, Verstappen is first, Sergio Pérez second and Carlos Sainz third ahead of Leclerc . Fernando Alonso , meanwhile, is seventh behind Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel .
14:15 – The session resumes
With 14 minutes remaining, only Leclerc set the lap. The pilots will go out again soon to do the same and thus cover themselves in case of new accidents.
14:09 – Russell, the great beneficiary of the red flag
With the timer stopped, Williams will have a few more minutes to repair George Russell’s car. Last in Azebaijan will Stroll leave after his accident.
14:05 – Red flag
Stroll breaks the suspension and comes to a standstill. Lelcerc , the only rider to have set a lap. Fernando Alonso came with the record of the first sector.
14:00 – Q1 begins
Carlos Sainz leaves and Fernando Alonso also leaves. They thus seek to avoid traffic. The Haas and the Williams, where it remains to be seen if Russell can take the exit, favorites to be eliminated. Alfa Romeo can also be in danger.
13:58 – Like Alonso, Ocon is happy with the car
“In general, it has been a decent day , with good understanding and a lot of data, especially in the long runs. Obviously there are some things we need to evaluate tonight, but both cars finished in the top ten in the afternoon . The track was pretty dirty this morning, but it improved tremendously in FP2. For my part, I was not entirely happy with the car, but we know the direction we should take for the rest of the weekend, which is positive, ”said Esteban Ocon , Fernando Alonso’s teammate.
13:51 – The optimism of Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso commented after being sixth in FP2: “ It was a positive Friday and I liked riding in Baku again. I felt the car well immediately in FP1 , and we didn’t play too much with the set-up. We tested a few different tire combinations just to understand the needs of the entire weekend and we will take some valuable data from these runs. Overall, it was a good start , although we know there are other performance areas that we still need to unlock. ”
13:46 – Carlos Sainz, better than expected
“ We went faster than expected but it is also true that I had a couple of slip-ups on my good laps, while on the long runs we couldn’t see the pace clearly so the whole picture might not be so clear”, Carlos Sainz declared after being third in Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2.
However, he added: ” We are not as fast as in Monaco , that’s for sure, Red Bull is in short and long runs, so we have to work to see if we can find a little more time per lap.”
13:40 – Results of Free Practice 3
Pierre Gasly was the fastest of Free Practice 3 ahead of Sergio Pérez . Lewis Hamilton has crept into the Top-3 for the first time in Azerbaijan. Ferrari has once again reaffirmed its power with Leclerc fourth and Carlos Sainz fifth, while Fernando Alonso was seventh. The Asturian was once again ahead of his teammate, Esteban Ocon .
Nicely done, @PierreGASLY 👏
A gap of 0.344s to Sergio Perez in P2!#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/l0JvFCYeIT
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2021
13:34 This was the Verstappen accident
Max Verstappen , leader of the Formula 1 World Championship with four points of advantage, has suffered an accident without consequences in FP3.
Baku punishes the smallest mistakes!
Max Verstappen’s qualifying preparations were dealt a huge blow at Turn 15#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZU2BRPfzkN
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 5, 2021
Azerbaijan Grand Prix preview
After an atypical Monaco Grand Prix, in which Carlos Sainz was second behind Verstappen , comes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a race that may be favorable for the Spanish. Although Ferrari should take a step back in Baku due to the characteristics of the circuit, both Carlos Sainz and Leclerc have not moved from the Top-5 in the three free practice sessions that have been held. Fernando Alonso, for his part, has not moved from the Top-10 either, so it seems feasible that he will reach Q3 in the qualifying session.
It remains to be seen if the accident suffered by Max Verstappen in FP3 affects qualifying in any way. In principle, it shouldn’t be like that, so Red Bull starts as a favorite to get pole in Azerbaijan. Although Pierre Gasly was the fastest in FP3 ahead of Sergio Pérez , in FP2 it was the latter ahead of a Verstappen who, in turn, set the best time in FP1. Mercedes , for his part, it has rolled back in Baku. Valtteri Bottas , for example, was not faster than Fernando Alonso in any of the three sessions.
While Red Bull faces the Azerbaijan Grand Prix one point ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors ‘World Cup, in the drivers’ championship Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton by four points.
