Leclerc Takes Pole on Baku, Verstappen on the Prowl.

The Ferrari driver took a surprising pole position for Sunday's race; Verstappen suffered from lack of grip on his final attempt, however he secured P2 and is favorite to win.

Leclerc took a surprising pole position; Verstappen is still the favorite. | Credit: Ferrari

After a few weeks without F1, the circus finally returned to action; this time, the stage is set in Baku, for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This will be the first-ever Sprint Race of the championship, not only that, it will feature changes in its format.

Q1 was ridden with flags

A lot of flags were waived during Q1, Perez complained about them in the bullpen. We saw drivers like Nick DeVries and Pierre Gasly crash their cars because they went over the grip limits.

Baku is a street circuit and there is no room for mistakes. There are very few runoff areas, and overshooting your brake trajectory will end up costing you dearly.

Charles Leclerc made an early statement during Q1 by making the fastest time, just behind him was Verstappen, and Alonso.

Nick De Vries could not avoid the wall. | Credit: Formula 1, Alpha Tauri.

Bottas saved face for Ferrari's customer teams because they were all knocked out on Q1, he barely managed to pass onto Q2. He would have to settle for P14, 'sandwiched' by both Williams.

Magnussen had engine-related issues, so he could not put the Haas further up the grid. Reliability ghosts are lurking around Ferrari territory; fingers crossed so nothing happens to Leclerc and Sainz tomorrow and during Sunday's race. Another DNF for the 'Scuderia' would be catastrophic.

Q2

By the second qualifying session, the drivers got the hang of the car's limits and how the track felt. There was more rubber on the surface so the grip improved significantly.

Despite Mercedes' great Q1 session, they struggled to move onto Q3. Hamilton barely made the cut on P10, and his teammate, George Russell, was knocked out, and had to settle for P11. His time was just 0.004' slower than Hamilton!

George Russell had to settle for P11. | Credit: Mercedes

Aston Martin was looking strong; Alonso had a solid Q2 and managed to finish the session in 5th, just behind the 2 intertwined Red Bulls and Ferraris. Stroll was gaining confidence, and both cars were poised for high grid positions.

Norris and Tsunoda managed P6 and P7, respectively. The rest of the cars were: Stroll, Piastri, and Hamilton. The stage was set for the final showdown.

Q3

The session was really entertaining, all of the cars were really pushing to the limit. Leclerc was sublime and really forced Red Bull to be at their best. F1 can be so much fun when there is close competition.

Max Verstappen was on provisional pole, and everything was looking great for Red Bull. Charles Leclerc had other plans in mind. He managed to make an identical lap time to Verstappen, just before the Monegasque made his final attempt.

Leclerc made an exhilarating lap time. He managed to improve his time and secured pole with a 1'40.203. Verstappen was only 0.188' behind. Sergio Perez got 3rd position and was just 0.104' behind his teammate.

Finally, some good news for Leclerc; the race is going to be a whole different thing though. | Credit: Ferrari

Verstappen complained about lack of grip during his final attempt. Perez on the other hand had managed to be the quickest driver on the 1st and 3rd sectors of the lap. He struggled on the second sector which is the more technical part of the circuit.

Aston Martin suffered from DRS issues so they were not able to position themselves higher up the grid. Alonso had to settle for P6, behind a majestic Lewis Hamilton in P5. Stroll managed P9, behind Tsunoda, and ahead of Piastri. He will have to climb positions in order to get solid points for Sunday's Race.

Everything is set for Sunday's race. More action tomorrow, on Sprint Day. | Credit: Formula 1

More action tomorrow!

Friday's qualifying session definitely delivered. We witnessed a lot of action, and drivers were pushing to the limits.

Remember that tomorrow is 'Sprint Day'. We will start with a short qualifying session to determine the grid for the Sprint Race later during the day.

Drivers will be pushing with everything they've got. I am sure that drivers like Russell, Bottas, Ocon, and Magnussen will want to make it up for their disappointing qualifying session today.

There is a big chance to secure points if they manage to place themselves from P1 to P8. Everyone will have another chance come Sunday, during the main race. Looks like the sprint format is delivering so far. Perhaps F1 will add more sprint races on the calendar.