F1 Azerbaijan GP: Leclerc beats Piastri to pole as Norris goes out in Q1

Leclerc claims fourth consecutive Baku pole for Ferrari while title contender Norris is set for a comeback race

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured pole for Formula 1's Azerbaijan Grand Prix as a botched Q1 run left Lando Norris just 17th on the grid.

A dominant Leclerc held off McLaren's Oscar Piastri by three tenths, with both his Q3 laps good enough for pole as the Monegasque driver extended his Baku pole streak, while Piastri managed to hold off the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

Sergio Perez confirmed his strong Baku weekend form by outqualifying team-mate Max Verstappen for the first time this year. Perez took fourth, with Mercedes' George Russell splitting the Red Bulls in fifth ahead of the Dutchman.

Lewis Hamilton was seventh ahead of Aston's Fernando Alonso, while rookie Franco Colapinto starred on his second outing with Williams, heading into Q3 in sixth and then outqualifying team-mate Albon for ninth.

Albon was bizarrely sent out for his final run with the airbox fan still attached to the car, but after unsuccessfully urging the marshals to help at pit exit, Albon managed to remove the device himself.

Albon still managed to set a lap, although he may well have compromised his tyre warm-up to find himself behind Colapinto.

McLaren's title contender Norris, who is looking to further reduce his 62-point gap to championship leader Max Verstappen, hit a major setback as he got eliminated in Q1.

Due to dramatic track evolution on the low-grip Baku street circuit, most frontrunners needed a third, fault-free soft tyre run to safeguard a spot in Q2.

But Norris, who had been shuffled into the drop zone, made a mistake on the final run by sliding over the high Turn 16 kerbs, before seeing his lap definitively ruined by what the team thought was a yellow flag for Esteban Ocon coasting home in his punctured Alpine.

Norris backed off and was forced to pit instead, with his previous best only good enough for 17th on the grid.

Norris will line up behind RB's Daniel Ricciardo, with Sauber pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in 18th and 19th, and Ocon last after touching the wall. Ocon had already been on the back foot after losing FP1 due to a hybrid engine problem and being stranded in FP2 with a fuel system issue.

In Q2 Haas rookie Oliver Bearman missed the cut to Q3 by one tenth after ruing a slight error, but the Briton still impressively fought back from an FP3 crash to outqualify his experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

Bearman will start 11th ahead of RB's Yuki Tsunoda and Gasly, followed by Hulkenberg and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll.

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	6	1'41.365		213.197
2	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	6	+0.321 1'41.686	0.321	212.524
3	C. Sainz Ferrari	55	Ferrari	Ferrari	6	+0.440 1'41.805	0.119	212.276
4	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11	Red Bull	Red Bull	6	+0.448 1'41.813	0.008	212.259
5	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	6	+0.509 1'41.874	0.061	212.132
6	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	6	+0.658 1'42.023	0.149	211.822
7	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44	Mercedes	Mercedes	6	+0.924 1'42.289	0.266	211.271
8	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	6	+1.004 1'42.369	0.080	211.106
9	F. Colapinto Williams	43	Williams	Mercedes	6	+1.165 1'42.530	0.161	210.775
10	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	5	+1.494 1'42.859	0.329	210.101
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