A quali on Friday. This is the qualification of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Tomorrow the F1 will drive a qualifying for the sprint and the sprint race. But there is also something like a Grand Prix on Sunday. Qualifying has just been completed for Sunday’s race.
Q1
What started as a promising free practice for Nyck de Vries ends up as a nightmare for the Dutchman. Pushing for his first fast lap in Q1, he brakes way too late on the straight. There is almost no run-out on Baku and de Vries parks his Alpha Tauri in the wall at the first corner. End of qualification for him. The car is in the corner, causing the FIA to wave the red flag.
It’s barely green before the next red flag follows. This time it is Gasly who drives his car into the wall in the same way. Baku is unforgivable in that regard. Fortunately, the marshals cleared things up relatively quickly and it is green again after a few minutes!
In Q1, Leclerc finishes on top, with Max on P2. The top 5 also consists of Alonso, Perez and Russell. Mercedes seems to have recovered from free practice.
A great performance from rookies Sargeant and Piastri. The Williams driver finished in P11 and is therefore able to continue to Q2. Piastri finished in P12.
We say goodbye to Zhou, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Gasly and De Vries in the first part of qualifying in Azerbaijan 2023.
Pos Driver Q1 Laps 16
Zhou Guanyu
Alfa Romeo Racing
01:42.642
11
17
Nico Hülkenberg
Haas
01:42.755
10
18
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
01:43.417
9
19
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
01:44.853
6
20
Nyck de Vries
AlphaTauri
01:55.282
3
Q2
Q2 starts a lot more pleasantly compared to Q1. No red flags for the time being, so that the remaining candidates can drive nicely. That ultimately seems to lay the foundation for the whole of Q2, because everything else continues to go well. So now it’s all a matter of setting your fastest lap.
As you would expect, the Ferraris and Red Bulls do that immediately, with Leclerc having the time to beat towards the end. A nice mix of drivers from Aston, McLaren and AlphaTauri fill the rest of the top 10, which is less good news for Mercedes. They are lagging behind and both Russell and Hamilton are unable to get far into the top 15.
In the end, Verstappen sets the fastest time and Leclerc cannot match it. The rest of the teammates of both gentlemen join in, along with the majority of the middle bracket. We have to say goodbye to both Williams, Bottas, Ocon and even Russell, who failed to make Q3 for the first time this season. A big downer for Mercedes.
Pos Driver Q2 Laps 11
George Russell
Mercedes
01:41.654
7
12
Esteban Ocon
Alpine
01:41.798
8
13
Alexander Albon
Williams
01:41.818
8
14
Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo Racing
01:42.259
8
15
Logan Sargeant
Williams
01:42.395
8
Q3
The third stint of qualifying in Azerbaijan in 2023 will start in the normal way. With all drivers from Red Bull, Ferrari, Aston, and McLaren still in the race, along with Hamilton and Tsunoda, there is immediately plenty of racing. Verstappen takes a first time and Leclerc does the impossible: he equals him down to the last milliseconds. Perez, Sainz, and Hamilton close in, making it look like Lewis has managed to get his car closer to the lead after all. Norris, Tsunoda and Alonso find out.
Again a somewhat actionless Q3 with a handful of fastest laps and a lot of back to the pits. From the last two minutes, the mouth goes back on the steering wheel. It gets exciting again between Leclerc and Verstappen, and suddenly the roles are reversed. Leclerc takes the fastest time and Verstappen has to add 0.200 seconds. Perez also fails to be faster and so Leclerc takes pole position for the sprint race. Verstappen and Perez behind, then Sainz and Hamilton who comes back well in 5th place.
Full result:
Pos Driver Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps 1
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
01:41.269
01:41.037
01:40.203
21
2
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
01:41.398
01:40.822
01:40.391
20
3
Sergio Perez
Red Bull Racing
01:41.756
01:41.131
01:40.495
21
4
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Ferrari
01:42.197
01:41.369
01:41.016
24
5
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
01:42.113
01:41.650
01:41.177
24
6
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
01:41.720
01:41.370
01:41.253
23
7
Lando Norris
McLaren
01:42.154
01:41.485
01:41.281
20
8
Yuki Tsunoda
AlphaTauri
01:42.234
01:41.569
01:41.581
23
9
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
01:42.524
01:41.576
01:41.611
23
10
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
01:42.455
01:41.636
01:41.611
24
This article Qualifying Formula 1: Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023 appeared first on Ruetir.
