Ferrari’s Leclerc on pole for the second race in a row in Azerbaijan

In a qualifying session riddled with collisions and red flags, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole position for the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday. The three-phase session was interrupted four times due to accidents, with Leclerc claiming his second pole in a row after Monaco when he took the lead after crashing.

Early in Saturday’s third session, Leclerc posted a time of 1 minute 41.218 seconds. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were among the drivers who had just begun their late flying laps when Yuki Tsunoda collided with the wall, and then Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz crashed straight behind Tsunoda. It brought the session to a quick halt and put Leclerc on pole for the second straight Grand Prix.

“It feels very good, on the other hand, it was with a red flag again, so I wish we had it under the normal track, but at the end, a pole is a pole,” Leclerc said.

Leclerc wrecked his Ferrari to finish qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, and while he kept his starting position at home, modifications to his car were not completed in time, and he did not race.

Hamilton finished second .232 seconds behind the leader, a strong performance after Mercedes struggled to match Red Bull and Ferrari in practice. Verstappen finished third .113 back. Gasly matched the record of his best qualifying by coming P4. He had an amazing lap in the Q3 which put him ahead of Carlos Sainz.

The other drivers that crashed were Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, and Antonio Giovinazzi. Lance Stroll and Antonio Giovinazzi collided at the same corner in the first qualifying session before establishing a time, while Daniel Ricciardo wrecked in the second. The Australian is in his debut season with McLaren, although he has finished second to teammate Lando Norris in four of five races this season.

What are your predictions for tomorrow’s race? We will probably see more crashes on turn 15 so it can be a more unpredictable race.

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