Leclerc on Azerbaijan GP front row, Hamilton sixth on the grid for Ferrari
Charles Leclerc qualified on the front row for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton will start the 51-lap race from the third row after finishing sixth in qualifying.
- 51 laps
- 15.00 local (13.00 CEST)
- Front row
- Third row (qualified sixth)
What Happened
Charles Leclerc will line up on the front row of the grid for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton will start the 51-lap race from the third row. Qualifying at the Baku City Circuit ran as always spectacular, eventful and unpredictable right up to the second runs in Q3. Leclerc said he managed to put together a good lap on his last run, but that the gap to George Russell was quite big. The race gets underway tomorrow at 15.00 local time (13.00 CEST).
Ferrari struggled quite a lot, and the team expected to be rather far off.
Leclerc said Ferrari saw there may be something more on the table.
Leclerc took a front-row grid slot; Hamilton qualified sixth, on the third row.
The 51-lap Azerbaijan Grand Prix starts at the Baku City Circuit.
“I managed to put together a good lap on my last run, but the gap to George (Russell) was quite big. We expected to be rather far off after a difficult Thursday, but after this morning's practice we saw there may be something more on the table. We are happy with our position on the grid, let's see what we can do in the race tomorrow.”
“Q1 was fairly solid and there were some positive elements to take from the session. However, getting the tyre temperatures right was a challenge throughout qualifying and that made it difficult to consistently get them into the right operating window. We struggled to extract the grip we were looking for, particularly in Q3, and not having a tow on the final run also made it more difficult to maximise the lap. The car itself is not in a bad place, but there are a few areas for us to understand better. We'll go through everything tonight and focus on putting ourselves in the best position possible for tomorrow's race.”
“I'm very pleased with the job the team did between yesterday and qualifying, because we struggled quite a lot on Thursday. We made some significant changes to the set-up and to our approach, and they paid off today.”
Team Principal Fred Vasseur said George Russell has been very strong since the first lap of FP1, but that Charles Leclerc did a good job to put the car on the front row. On Hamilton's side he said it was difficult to get a tow because the different run plans made it complicated to synchronise with the other cars, and the Briton also brushed the wall on his first lap in Q3, which compromised that attempt, though he recovered well to finish sixth despite not having a tow on his final lap. Vasseur added that tyre degradation is expected to be very low tomorrow, which could make track position particularly important, and that Ferrari is in a position to score good points with both cars even if Baku is always unpredictable. He said the team will focus on itself and execute the race as well as it can.
Previously from Ferrari N.V.
Ferrari arrived in Baku with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth on the opening free-practice timesheet, both setting their fastest laps on Medium tyres. The team then completed 97 laps on the opening day, with Leclerc and Hamilton ending the second session fourth and fifth. In a blustery final free-practice session, Hamilton set the third-fastest time and Leclerc the fifth.
- Leclerc third, Hamilton fourth for Ferrari in Azerbaijan Grand Prix first practice
- Ferrari logs 97 laps in Azerbaijan GP practice as Leclerc and Hamilton chase pace
- Hamilton third, Leclerc fifth for Ferrari in final Azerbaijan GP practice
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ferrari N.V.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Grid position matters at the Baku City Circuit, where Ferrari's team principal expects very low tyre degradation and says track position could be particularly important. Ferrari believes it is in a position to score good points with both cars, even though Baku is always unpredictable.
Terms in This Story
- Q3
- The final and fastest segment of qualifying, in which the leading grid positions are decided.
- tow
- The slipstream from a car running ahead, which can help a driver set a faster lap time.
- tyre degradation
- The gradual loss of grip and performance as a tyre wears during a run or a race.
- set-up
- The mechanical and aerodynamic adjustments made to a car to tune how it handles.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.