Who's on top heading into Azerbaijan qualifying?

Charles Leclerc looks like a man in complete control in Baku after a scorching 1:41:604s put him clear of anyone ahead of qualifying.

The Ferrari’s look to have a serious straight-line speed advantage with Leclerc’s fastest lap including one of the better top speed recordings without a tow from another car.

The Monegasque’s teammate Sebastian Vettel is close behind, but his fastest effort was helped by a tow from the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.

While Vettel may be a close second on paper, it’s the SF90 with number 16 on the nose that is looking strongest.

Max Verstappen’s third-place might have got a few at Mercedes worried ahead of the all-important qualifying hour but once again, his fastest time was aided by a tow to get ahead of both Mercedes.

The Dutchman’s teammate Pierre Gasly has a pitlane start to contend with, but could Red Bull try to get Gasly through to Q3 to give his teammate a slipstream? It would be a bold call.

Valtteri Bottas pipped his Mercedes teammate in FP3 and the Finn will be eager to out-qualify a teammate around Baku for the first time in his career.

Lewis Hamilton though has pace in the locker still. Unable to put together a completely clean lap and backing off on his final fast run, Hamilton will be a step closer than it appears.

Elsewhere it's Toro Rosso who could be making a surprise double appearance in Q3. Both Kvyat and Alexander Albon look comfortably around the city streets and finished sixth and eighth respectively.

Renault still seems unsure as to which direction they need to go for qualifying setup-wise. The French team tried a higher downforce setup in FP3 but both drivers were losing too much time in sectors one and three so may well revert to a previous wing configuration.

One thing is for sure, the slipstream to the line will play a crucial role in qualifying. The amount of time to be gained could be too good to pass up on even for the top teams. The fight for pole position may well be decided by whoever can catch a tow out of the final corner.