Charles Leclerc will start at the head of the sprint race of the GP of Azerbaijan, the galleys continue for Pierre Gasly

A double qualifying session for a first in the history of the Formula 1 world championship. After Friday’s hectic qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, the sprint race is in the spotlight on Saturday 29 April. Monegasque Charles Leclerc will start from pole position on Saturday afternoon, ahead of the two Red Bulls of Sergio Pérez (2nd) and Max Verstappen (3rd).

After his best time on Friday, which ensures him to start in the lead of the race on Sunday, Charles Leclerc doubled the lead on Saturday morning, even though he went straight into the wall on his last attempt. The Ferrari driver did better than Sergio Pérez, who finished ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen, sliding with his single-seater in the second sector. George Russell will be fourth on the grid for the sprint race.

CHARLES LECLERC TAKES SPRINT POLE!!! 🤩

He makes it two from two in Baku 👏

A brilliant weekend for the Monegasque driver and @ScuderiaFerrari thus far 💪#AzerbaijanGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/xvTOZ8vNzf

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023

On the other hand, Pierre Gasly lives a nightmarish weekend. Already the victim of a huge fire during the only free practice session of the weekend, and after hitting the rails in qualifying on Friday, the Frenchman could not defend his chances because of a new problem on his Alpine . “It’s not our weekend at the moment”, confided, with a serious face, the Norman. His teammate, Esteban Ocon, was eliminated in Q2 and will start 13th on the grid.

The starting grid for the sprint race
1. Leclerc (Ferrari) / 2. Perez (Red Bull)
3. Verstappen (Red Bull) / 4. Russell (Mercedes)
5. Sainz (Ferrari) / 6. Hamilton (Mercedes)
7. Albon (Williams) / 8. Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Stroll (Aston Martin) / 10. Norris (McLaren)
11. Piastri (McLaren) / 12. Hulkenberg (Haas)
13. Ocon (Alpine) / 14. Magnussen (Haas)
15. Sargeant (Williams) / 16. Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
17. Bottas (Alfa Romeo) / 18. Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
19. Gasly (Alpine) / 20. De Vries (AlphaTauri)