F1: Leclerc takes pole position in Azerbaijan, Norris far from the mark, Verstappen limits the damage

Le Monégasque surfe sur son succès en Italie. MAXPPP – YURI KOCHETKOV

After his victory at Monza, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) took pole position for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday 14 September in Baku, while championship leader Max Verstappen will only be sixth on the grid and his rival Lando Norris, far behind, in 17th place.

After winning at Monza, the Ferrari driver will start from first place on the grid for the fourth consecutive time in Baku this Sunday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m., ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, second, and his Scuderia teammate Carlos Sainz Jr, third.

World championship leader Max Verstappen could do no better than sixth on the grid, ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, fourth, as well as the Mercedes of George Russell.

Norris completely misses the mark

The Dutchman's main rival in the general classification at 62 points, Lando Norris, completely missed the mark during the first qualifying session, failing to do better than the 17th fastest time after being hindered by a car in front of him.

Read also: VIDEO. “How do they not see it, it's fluorescent yellow…”: Williams' incredible blunder during qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP

Concerning the top 10, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) will start from seventh place, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). Alpine's Frenchmen Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will start from 13th and 19th places respectively.

Today's great performance is to be credited to Argentinian rookie Franco Colapinto, ninth and ahead of his Williams teammate Alex Albon, who suffered a mishap with a big blunder by his team when setting off for a second fast lap in Q3.