F1 LIVE | The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Leclerc on pole, Norris P15
Live
It's race day at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc made it four pole positions in a row around the Baku City Circuit after taking P1 on Saturday ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Teammate Carlos Sainz will start third ahead of Sergio Perz in P4. Max Verstappen will start in P6, but it was a terrible session for Lando Norris, and he will start in P16 after his Q1 elimination. Will Leclerc hold on from pole? And can Norris recover to score some points? Follow the liveblog on GPblog for all the crucial updates.
F1 LIVE | The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku
The weekend in Baku so far
Many thought that McLaren would be the team to beat coming into Baku as they closed the gap to a faltering Red Bull at the Italian Grand Prix last time out. However, updates from the Austrian team mean they improved their pace, while McLaren were not their dominating selves in what were wide-open practice sessions, as their different drivers topped each practice session. Max Verstappen did so in FP1, Charles Leclerc in FP2, and the Mercedes of George Russell ended practice as the fastest.
However, in qualifying, it was Ferrari who found the extra pace, showing that the updates brought to Monza that saw Leclerc take victory are working on the SF-24. The Monegasque driver took his fourth pole position in as many years around the Baku City Circuit, showing his dominance at this circuit. Behind him is the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, but Norris missed his chance and could only qualify in P17 in what was a shocking result. Carlos Sainz rounds out the top three, with Ferrari now looking to close the 39-point gap to Red Bull in the constructors' title.
Behind Sainz is Sergio Perez in P4, with Red Bull seeming to have found a little more pace thanks to a new update brought to Baku. However, Verstappen is still not too impressed with the RB20, as he could only manage to qualify in P6. In between the two Red Bulls is George Russell in P5, also unhappy with his W15 and the old floor that Mercedes are now using. And once again, it was a Saturday to forget for Lewis Hamilton, who could only qualify in P7. An engine change early on Saturday means he will now start Sunday's race in the pit lane. Fernando Alonso, Franco Colapinto, Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman will round out the top ten as a result of Hamilton's pitlane start.