Leclerc beats Perez to pole position in Baku

Charles Leclerc will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position after a blistering lap in qualifying in Baku.

The Ferrari driver was 0.282s quicker than nearest rival Sergio Perez, who outqualified teammate Max Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz had initially looked in contention for pole after setting the best time in the first runs in Q3, but the Spaniard lightly brushed the wall while pushing to go faster, costing him the chance to improve.

Lance Stroll’s hopes of making the second part of qualifying were dealt a blow when he collided with the barrier. He managed to keep his Aston Martin going, and tried to go for another flying lap, but misjudged the corner to make contact with another wall – this time breaking his front wing and steering, bringing out a red flag.

Just 2.30 was left in the session when Q1 resumed, resulting in a big queue of drivers looking to improve their times, but several were unable to do so after Fernando Alonso locked up his Alpine and took to the escape road, resulting in a yellow flag.

Sebastian Vettel almost had a similar fate to his teammate as he went into the barrier in Q2, but was able to avoid damage and made in through the final part of qualifying, while Leclerc, Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda all had minor contact with the walls.

Guanyu Zhou outqualified Alfa Romeo teammate Valtteri Bottas for the first time in his career, while AlphaTauri saw both of their drivers in the top eight.

Provisional qualifying result:

1 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)

7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)

10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)

11. Lando Norris (McLaren)

12. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)

13. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

14. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

15. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

17. Alex Albon (Williams)

18. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

20. Mick Schumacher (Haas)