Azerbaijan GP 2024 starting line-up: Charles Leclerc set to start from pole, Verstappen and Hamilton faces uphill task

Charles Leclerc secured his fourth consecutive pole position in Baku, clocking in three-tenths faster than his rivals. Oscar Piastri surprised Ferrari by taking P2 for McLaren, while Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three. Red Bull star Max Verstappen had an unexpected drop as he finished sixth behind his teammate Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ George Russell.

Leclerc celebrated over the radio, shouting, “Let’s go! Good job boys.” Meanwhile, bizarre scenes unfolded in Q3 as Albon drove out of the pit lane with the airbox fan still attached to his car. He quickly removed it himself, throwing it aside, but the incident didn’t affect his lap or anyone else’s performance.

As it happened in the Qualifying session: 

Q1: A shocking setback for Lando Norris!

In a shocking turn of events, Lando Norris was eliminated in Q1, finishing in P17 after going wide at Turn 16 and boxing on his final lap. This result is a major blow for Norris, who was expected to be a strong contender. Joining him in the bottom five were Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Esteban Ocon, all out of qualifying.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso narrowly escaped elimination, securing P15, while Ollie Bearman finished P14. Norris' early exit is a massive setback for his race hopes tomorrow as he is trying hard to win the championship title against Max Verstappen.

Williams cooking in Q2!

In a dramatic Q2 session, British teenager Ollie Bearman narrowly missed out on Q3, finishing P11. It was a close call for the young driver, but he'll start just outside the top ten. Joining Bearman in the bottom five and out of Q2 were Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, and Lance Stroll.

Meanwhile, Williams’ rookie Franco Colapinto impressed with a strong P6 finish, four-tenths ahead of his teammate Alex Albon, who secured P10. The top three spots in Q2 went to Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Sergio Perez, setting up a thrilling battle for the pole in the upcoming Q3 session.

Here is the final starting grid:

#Guyanu and Gasly will start from the end as they have a grid penalty for using an extra Power Unit and excessive fuel respectively.