Mercedes take control in Baku after Ferrari’s Leclerc crashes

BAKU, April 27 

Valtteri Bottas snatched pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix today in an incident-packed qualifying session that saw Mercedes lock out the front row and Ferrari favourite Charles Leclerc crash out.

The Finn lapped the six-kilometre Baku street circuit in one minute, 40.495 seconds, just 0.059 seconds faster than teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel, the sole Ferrari driver chasing pole after Leclerc crashed out in the second phase of qualifying, will line up in third place after his fastest lap was 0.302 seconds off Bottas’s pace.

Hamilton had been fastest after the first flying laps in the third and final phase but Bottas found the extra speed just when it mattered.

“It was a nice feeling getting it done on the last lap,” said the Finn, after the eighth pole position of his career and second in a row. The 29-year-old also started the previous race in China from the front.

“I managed to hit the sweet spot,” added the Finn.

Hamilton’s second-fastest time gave Mercedes their third front-row lockout of the season, leaving the German marque well-placed to extend their streak of three straight one-two finishes in as many races.

“Ferrari have looked incredibly quick,” said Hamilton, who won in Baku last year and leads Bottas by six points in the overall standings. “We came here, we didn’t have an upgrade so for us to lock out the front row, it puts us in a great position for tomorrow,” added the five-time champion. — Reuters

Crash corner 

The 21-year-old Leclerc locked up and ploughed into the barriers at Turn 8 during the second phase of an already-interrupted qualifying session after he had earlier dominated practice. Poland’s Robert Kubica had crashed his Williams at the same tight corner around the walls of Baku’s old city in the first phase, forcing a 30-minute delay to mend the barriers.

I am very sad for what happened but I deserve it. I have been stupid, as I said on the radio. I have calmed down but I still think I have been stupid. This doesn’t change —  Charles Leclerc, Ferrari driver