Leclerc crashes but takes Baku sprint pole

Charles Leclerc added pole for Formula 1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race to the pole he took on Friday for the main event, despite crashing on his final Q3 lap.

Leclerc’s first Q3 effort of 1m41.697s put him on provisional pole, and he then slewed into the Turn 5 barriers on his second attempt.

Charles Leclerc is in the barriers!!!!

He won't get to do a final run, but still holds onto provisional pole! 😱#AzerbaijanGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/rOnE8rwf3a

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023

The damage appears relatively minor and Leclerc was able to make it to parc ferme minus his front wing.

The yellow flag for Leclerc’s crash only disrupted his team-mate Carlos Sainz, who fell from fourth on the provisional grid to fifth behind George Russell’s Mercedes.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen start second and third for Red Bull, Perez outqualifying his champion team-mate in a straight fight for the first time this season. Verstappen made a minor error on his first run and couldn’t improve by enough to get on the front row on his next flying lap, as drivers stayed out for cool-down laps rather than pitting for fresh tyres under the shortened and tyre-limited new sprint qualifying format.

Alex Albon qualified a sensational seventh for Williams behind Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who were grappling with DRS problems.

Albon’s team-mate Logan Sargeant crashed after coming upon the slower-moving Ferraris in Q1, causing a red flag that curtailed that segment early and left Sargeant 15th on the grid, having made Q2 but unable to take part.

🚩 RED FLAG 🚩

It's a big hit for Logan Sargeant! 😩

Sargeant is OK, but it's a devastating end to what was looking like a promising Sprint Shootout for the rookie!

SQ1 will not be resumed#AzerbaijanGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/F0QLifhNWv

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023

Lando Norris reached Q3 but was unable to run due to the rule quirk around the use of only fresh tyres, as he had none left.

His team-mate Oscar Piastri was very narrowly edged out of Q3 by Stroll and starts right behind Norris in 11th.

Haas got both cars into Q2, with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen either side of leading Alpine runner Esteban Ocon as they took 12th and 14th.

Pierre Gasly’s awful weekend continued with an exhaust leak that meant he starts only 19th.

Nyck de Vries’ misery went on, too – an escape road visit wrecked one Q1 lap and then the Sargeant red flag stranded both AlphaTauris and both Alfa Romeos in the eliminated group.

Qualifying Results