Max Verstappen again had a disappointing Saturday, finishing P6 in the Azerbaijan qualifying. The Dutchman was out-qualified by teammate Sergio Perez for the first time this season underlining the difficulties that RB 20 is facing.
Verstappen was on the brink of getting eliminated in Q1 but managed to put up a strong final lap to save his blushes. In Q3, Red Bull looked no match to Ferrari and McLaren who unsurprisingly had far superior race pace and balance as compared to Milton Kean’s outfit. The defending champion admitted that he expected a tough session from the moment he hit the track in Q1, where he experienced intensified bouncing.
“I already knew after the first run in Q1 that it was going to be difficult,” Verstappen told Viaplay. “We changed a few things on the car and that made it very difficult. The car bounced a lot at the back when entering and exiting the corner. That made it very difficult, although Q2 went pretty well. But in the car, it already didn’t feel good, I couldn’t optimize and I had just too much understeer. You don’t want that on a street circuit.” he added.
Verstappen also acknowledged that he could have set a stronger banker time in Q3 if he hadn’t lost crucial momentum by riding the curb on the exit of Turn 16.
“Q3 had to be better, but in the first run, I had that little mistake in the last corner. The car broke out and in the last run, I was bouncing a lot again. If you’re not completely comfortable then you can’t attack.”
Despite having to start on the grid from P6 on Sunday, the defending champion will be aware that there is still everything up for grabs with each point crucial in the Driver’s Championship. Norris’ exit in Q1 also means that Verstappen will have a chance to increase his championship lead at the top and regain the momentum in the race for the championship.
Leclerc secures fourth consecutive pole in Azerbaijan
With Red Bull’s struggles and Norris’ shock Q1 exit, it was Charles Leclerc who took the bragging rights in Azerbaijan, securing a fourth consecutive pole position finish on the streets of Baku. The Monagasque mounted a time of 1:41.365 in Q3 which was enough to see off the challenge from Oscar Piastri (1:41.686) and teammate Carlos Sainz (1:41.805).
“It hasn’t been an easy weekend because (of) the crash in FP1, which didn’t make me lose confidence. I knew that the pace was there,” Leclerc said. “But you’ve got to build back up to speed,” Leclerc said.
Despite claiming three pole positions in Baku previously, Leclerc is yet to win a race in Azerbaijan and will be looking to put an end to the drought this Sunday and close the gap to Norris for the second position in the Driver’s Championship.
Sergio Perez will start from P4 and George Russell completes the top 5 for Sunday’s grid. Verstappen and Hamilton will start from sixth and seventh respectively with Fernando Alonso at eight.
Two Williams drivers, Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon complete the top 10 with the former proving why he was promoted into a race seat mid-season.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
