@ValtteriBottas takes pole in dramatic #AzerbaijanGP qualifying. #F1 @BakuCityCircuit
Valtteri Bottas, #77, Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W10 EQ Power+, Formula 1 Socar Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Image credit to Formula1.com.
Valtteri Bottas claimed a surprise pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after qualifying favourite Charles Leclerc crashed out in Q2.
Bottas was only 0.059 seconds quicker than Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who was in the tow behind him, on the final flyers in Q3 to clinch pole as the Silver Arrows locked out the front-row, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel completing the top three a further 0.302 seconds down.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified on the second row alongside Vettel in fourth and ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez who was fifth.
Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat placed his STR14 for sixth on the grid and in-front of McLaren’s Lando Norris who was seventh.
Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi outqualified team-mate Kimi Raikkonen for eighth place but will be hit with a 10-placed grid penalty for taking on a third power unit control electronics of the season earlier in the race weekend.
Leclerc still classified in tenth place in Q3 despite his Q2 crash, with his time set on the medium compound C3 Pirelli tyres, which meant he made the top ten but was unable to run the session.
The Monegasque youngster was the fastest of the two Ferrari drivers in Free Practice and Q1, but disaster struck when he hit the wall at the narrow turn eight after locking up his front-left upon entry and called his error “stupid” over the team radio.
Carlos Sainz was nudged out of a Q3 appearance by McLaren team-mate Norris to qualify 11th at the end of Q2 and missing out by just 0.017 seconds to Giovinazzi.
That put the Spaniard ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo who was 12th and Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon who qualified 13th – the Thai-British driver also clipped the wall with his right-rear late on in the Q2 session, which was interrupted by the red flag from Leclerc’s crash.
Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen took 14th due to a lock-up and running down the turn three run-off area on his final hot lap.
Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly, who will be starting from the pit-lane as punishment for missing the weighbridge during Friday practice finished 15th and did not run in the second qualifying stage.
But the Frenchman did post the quickest Q1 lap time after a superb slip-stream tow from Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and to make matters worse for Gasly, he was excluded from qualifying after exceeding the maximum 100kg/h fuel flow limit with his Honda-powered RB15 racer.
Stroll was eliminated in the first qualifying stage for the fourth time this season, and fell to 16th by Ricciardo at the end of Q1.
Ricciardo placed his R.S.19 behind the Canadian on his final flyer and used the tow in the first and final sectors to his advantage to take the position by a tenth and a half.
The other Haas VF-19 of Romain Grosjean took a low 17th after not improving enough on his hot lap, although managed to stay ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg who was 18th.
ROKiT Williams Racing’s George Russell who missed nearly all of Friday’s practice running after running over a loose drain cover in the earlier FP1 session, which was abandoned, forced the Grove-based squad to rebuild his FW42 racer around the spare monocoque.
His team-mate Robert Kubica was the slowest of the runners after crashing at turn eight on his final flyer due to clipping the inside wall behind the apex.
This brought out the first red flag of two in qualifying, although little running was lost as the chequered flag to end Q1 had already been waved.
Formula 1 Socar Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 Qualifying Highlights
Top Three
Pole Position – Valtteri Bottas, #77, Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W10 EQ Power+: “This pole feels really good, the entire team did a great job today. We saw early on in the Qualifying that the Ferraris were very quick, as they were all weekend, but by the time we got to Q3 we were able to extract the maximum from our car and the tyres. As the track was evolving and cooling down, our car was behaving better and better, so it was good that it all came together when it really counted. It’s nice to start from the front, but nothing is done yet – tomorrow is what counts. As we’ve seen in the past, anything can happen around this track, so staying out of trouble is going to be important. Race pace is going to be crucial as well as it is relatively easy to overtake on this track. I think it’s going to be an exciting race tomorrow, the top teams all looked very close on long run pace, so it should be fun. I have a bit of unfinished business here in Baku from last year, so I’ll give my best tomorrow.”
Second – Lewis Hamilton, #44, Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 EQ Power+: “”We didn’t think we’d be quick enough to lock out the front row here, Charles in particular had been very strong all weekend. We’ve made improvements and we thought we’d get within one or two tenths, but not quite make it. So I’m really proud of everyone in the team that we did it. This is one of the toughest, most challenging Qualifying sessions and circuits of the season, but I really enjoy the challenge. I’ve struggled at this track in the past, so I’m grateful to be on the front row. I was really close to getting pole today, my first lap in Q3 was actually quite good, but on my second lap I lost three tenths in the first two corners and while I did make most of it up, it wasn’t enough for pole in the end. So I’m happy in one respect, but on the other hand I’m disappointed because I could have taken pole today. I’ll try and make a difference tomorrow – the start is going to be important, our long run pace looked good, but there are usually lots of Safety Cars here, so lots can happen in the race.”
Third – Sebastian Vettel, #5, Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow SF90: “It was a tough call in the end. When the track temperature dropped the car balance changed and getting the tyres to work for that one lap, especially after such a long straight before starting the lap, was not easy. With the clock ticking down, everybody was banking on the last run and getting a tow so at some point I had to make the call; do I prioritise my tyres or the tow? Which would have meant compromising the outlap and I didn’t have the feeling that I could afford that and I wanted to have a clean shot. My first Q3 run was ok, but on the second run I didn’t have anybody to tow me along, so I dealt with it just focusing on my lap and obviously I lost quite a lot, about four tenths, compared to the previous lap. But that’s what happens at this track. It was a tricky session. I saw Charles in the barrier and realised qualifying was over for him. It was a shame to lose one of our cars. In the end, we are one team and everybody is working extremely hard no matter which side of the garage you are on. Anyway, we need to turn the page as tomorrow is a new day and it’s a long race where anything can happen. As a team we can recover and put our rivals under pressure. Overall I feel we have a strong car so we can go and race hard and should have some fun.”
Formula 1 Socar Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 Starting Grid
| POS | NO | DRIVER | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | 1:40.495 | |
| 2 | 44 | 1:40.554 | |
| 3 | 5 | 1:40.797 | |
| 4 | 33 | 1:41.069 | |
| 5 | 11 | 1:41.593 | |
| 6 | 26 | 1:41.681 | |
| 7 | 4 | 1:41.886 | |
| 8 | 7 | 1:43.068 | |
| 9 | 16 | ||
| 10 | 55 | 1:42.398 | |
| 11 | 3 | 1:42.477 | |
| 12 | 23 | 1:42.494 | |
| 13 | 20 | 1:42.699 | |
| 14 | 18 | 1:42.630 | |
| 15 | 8 | 1:43.407 | |
| 16 | 27 | 1:43.427 | |
| 17 | 63 | 1:45.062 | |
| 18 | 99 | 1:42.424 | |
| 19 | 88 | 1:45.455 | |
| 20 | 10 | 1:41.335 |
Note – Giovinazzi penalised 10 places for use of additional power unit element. Gasly to start from pit lane – penalty for ignoring weighbridge call during FP2.
