Leclerc beats Piastri to pole, Norris only 17th

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has 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 qualifying ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen for the first time this year, the Mexican taking fourth, with Mercedes’ George Russell splitting the Red Bulls in fifth ahead of the Dutchman.

Watch: What went wrong for Norris? And other Baku Qualifying drama – F1 Azerbaijan GP Saturday Update

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

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

The Williams driver still managed to set a lap, although he may well have compromised his tyre warmu-p to find himself behind Colapinto.

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

Due to dramatic track evolution on the low-grip Baku street circuit most front-runners 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 his final run by sliding over the high Turn 16 kerb, before seeing his lap definitively ruined by what the team thought was a yellow flag for Esteban Ocon coasting home in his punctured Alpine.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

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.

The Haas driver had already been on the back foot after losing FP1 due to a hybrid engine problem and being stranded in FP2 with 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.