F1 qualifying results: Charles Leclerc on pole for Azerbaijan Grand ...
Charles Leclerc put in the perfect performance around the Baku City Circuit to take pole position for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix during a chaotic qualifying session on Friday.
After much had been made about Ferrari's poor start to the season, Leclerc roared back after the sport's month-long break to take his third straight pole position at this track and his first of the season.
In the same week that the Monégasque driver made his musical debut with his track titled 'AUS23 (1:1)' heading up the Spotify charts, Leclerc also had his car on song to fight off the advances of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who finished in P2 and P3 respectively for Red Bull.
Carlos Sainz rounded out the top two rows on the grid for Sunday's race in P4 but there was disappointment for Mercedes' George Russell who finished in P11 and didn't even make it out of Q2. Earlier in the session, Nyck De Vries and Pierre Gasly both crashed out as the drama reached fever pitch in Baku.
MORE: F1 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Predictions, odds, betting tips and best bets for latest Formula One race
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023 provisional starting grid Position Driver 1 Charles Leclerc 2 Max Verstappen 3 Sergio Perez 4 Carlos Sainz 5 Lewis Hamilton 6 Fernando Alonso 7 Lando Norris 8 Yuki Tsunoda 9 Lance Stroll 10 Oscar Piastri 11 George Russell 12 Esteban Ocon 13 Alex Albon 14 Valtteri Bottas 15 Logan Sargeant 16 Zhou Guanyu 17 Nico Hulkenberg 18 Kevin Magnussen 19 Pierre Gasly 20 Nyck De Vries F1 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix live qualifying commentary, highlights: As it happenedEND OF Q3: Charles Leclerc takes pole position for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix!!! It's the perfect performance from the Ferrari man who takes top spot in Baku, his third in succession at this track. That is absolutely huge for the Italian team!
LECLERC TAKES POLE IN BAKU!!! #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/uFOwyhl5SN
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 20235 minutes left of Q3: Verstappen leads after the opening runs of Q3 but Leclerc amazingly posts exactly the same lap time just behind. The Dutchman takes top spot for now as he crossed the line first but there's absolutely nothing to separate the pair.
START OF Q3: For the final time today, the green light is on for Q3. Red Bull are looking strong but Leclerc lurks just behind and remains in the mix for pole position here in Baku. Yuki Tsunoda and Oscar Piastri are both making rare appearances in the final phase of qualifying!
END OF Q2: It's three purple splits for Verstappen who dominates Q2 but it's a disaster for Russell who is out in P11! That is a bitterly disappointing blow for Mercedes, especially as Hamilton only survived by 0.004 seconds ahead of his teammate.
Eliminated from Q2:
George Russell
Esteban Ocon
Alex Albon
Valtteri Bottas
Logan Sargeant
5 minutes left of Q2: Leclerc slots into P3 after his own first run followed by Alonso and Stroll just behind. Work to do for Norris in particular who's yet to post a time.
10 minutes left of Q2: Perez posts a 1:41:131 to lead the early stages of Q2 from his teammate Verstappen. That's lightning quick from the Mexican driver!
START OF Q2: We're back underway here in Azerbaijan as Albon leads us out for Q2.
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2023END OF Q1: Leclerc takes top spot in Q1 after a chaotic opening qualifying session of the day. He's followed by Verstappen and Alonso, whilst American rookie Logan Sargeant finishes in P11 and reaches Q2 for the first time in his F1 career. It's massive disappointment for Haas as both Hulkenburg and Magnussen miss out.
Eliminated from Q1:
Guanyu Zhou
Nico Hulkenburg
Kevin Magnussen
Pierre Gasly
Nyck de Vries
7 minutes left of Q1: Once again the action is underway here in Baku after Gasly crashed out. Ocon, Tsunoda and Sainz occupy the three available spots at the bottom of the pack at present and are currently heading out of Q1 but there's still time left to remedy that.
RED FLAG: Another red flag and this time it's Gasly! He's too quick into the corner, smashes into the barrier and limps down the road before retiring from qualifying.
What an awful day he's had following those problems earlier in FP1.
8 minutes left of Q1: So after De Vries' crash, this qualifying session resumes and there's pressure on some drivers out there who hadn't set a time prior to that red flag or had set a slower time.
RED FLAG: The red flags are waving and its AlphaTauri driver Nyck De Vries in the wall. The Dutchman can't slow his car down fast enough and he's absolutely smashed into the barrier at corner three. That's his day over already!
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 202310 minutes left of Q1: After the early runs in Q1, its Verstappen who leads Leclerc by just 0.218 seconds out in front. Alonso finds himself in P3 at present surprisingly followed by McLaren pair Norris and Piastri.
START OF Q1: Away we go then as the battle for pole position begins around the Baku City Circuit. The wind has picked up just in time for this session to add even further to the possible drama. All drivers are in the mix today despite a few problems earlier this afternoon in FP1 including Gasly.
5 minutes to go: We're all set here in Baku for qualifying for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The action begins in just under five minutes and we think that it might be a close one today!
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 202315 minutes until lights out: Keep an eye out for Aston Martin pair Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll this qualifying session too. Their team has added a few upgrades to both cars for this race specifically this weekend and both could challenge at the top once again.
30 minutes until lights out: Elsewhere in FP1, it proved to be a disaster for Pierre Gasly as a failure ended up with flames coming out of his Alpine car. The team are hopeful that the damage can be fixed in time for qualifying however thankfully.
Haas' Kevin Magnussen also suffered a suspected fuel pressure problem as he completed just eight laps throughout the session.
A nightmare start to Pierre Gasly's weekend ????#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/YjP6o73bnR
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 202345 minutes until lights out: Looking back to FP1 earlier today and Ferrari look improved compared to recent showings.
Charles Leclerc finished just 0.037 seconds behind Max Verstappen in P2 whilst Carlos Sainz finished in P4 behind Sergio Perez. The Italian team will be hoping that form can continue in qualifying which kicks off shortly.
1 hour until lights out: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of qualifying for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix!
In a change to the schedule for 2023, qualifying today will set the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix and not for tomorrow's F1 Sprint. Instead, the all-new F1 Sprint Shootout will get its first run out tomorrow which will determine the driver's starting spots for the subsequent sprint race later on the same day.
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 24, 2023MORE: What is F1 Sprint? Schedule, Shootout changes, points system and how format works in 2023
What time does the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix start? Date: Sunday, April 30 Start time: 3:00 p.m (Local) | 12:00 p.m (BST) | 7:00 a.m (ET) | 0:00 p.m (AEST)Sunday's 2023 Azerbaijan is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. local time. Lights out will take place just after 7:00 a.m. ET and 12:00 p.m BST.
Below is the complete schedule for the weekend's F1 events in Baku.
Date Event Time (BST) Time (ET) Time (AEDT) Friday, Apr 28 Practice 1 10:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m 7:30 p.m Friday, Apr 28 Qualifying 2 p.m. 9:00 a.m 11 p.m Saturday, Apr 29 Practice 2 10:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m 7:30 p.m Saturday, Apr 29 Sprint 2:30 p.m. 9:30 a.m 11:30 p.m Sunday, Apr 30 Race 12 p.m. 7 a.m 9 p.mMORE: F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023: Time, schedule, TV channel, live stream for race week in Baku
What TV channel is the F1 on? UK USA Canada Australia TV Channel Sky Sports F1 ESPN/ABC TSN (English); RDS (French) Fox Sports Where can I live stream F1? UK USA Canada Australia Live Stream NOW TV / Sky Go app ESPN+ fuboTV, TSN Direct Kayo F1 season schedule 2023In 2023, the Formula One Calendar will be made up on 23 races across four different continents.
The action began with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5 and will end on November 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Here's the latest schedule (subject to change):
Date Race March 5 Bahrain Grand Prix March 19 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix April 2 Australian Grand Prix April 30 Azerbaijan Grand Prix May 7 Miami Grand Prix May 21 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix May 28 Monaco Grand Prix June 4 Spanish Grand Prix June 18 Canadian Grand Prix July 2 Austrian Grand Prix July 9 British Grand Prix July 23 Hungarian Grand Prix July 30 Belgian Grand Prix August 27 Dutch Grand Prix September 3 Italian Grand Prix September 17 Singapore Grand Prix September 24 Japanese Grand Prix October 8 Qatari Grand Prix October 22 United States Grand Prix October 29 Mexican Grand Prix November 5 Brazilian Grand Prix November 19 Las Vegas Grand Prix November 26 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix How to watch Formula 1 in the US TV channel: ABC; ESPN Live stream: FuboTV / Hulu / Sling TVF1 fans in the USA can catch all the action in 2023 with all 23 races set to be shown live on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. For Spanish-language viewers, they can find live broadcasts on ESPN Deportes, though ESPNews and ESPNU will also show some practice and qualifying sessions live throughout the year.
As well as on the official F1 TV service, the action can be live streamed on Hulu + Live TV with subscriptions. Elsewhere, Sling TV will also show the action, as too will FuboTV in the US.
How to watch Formula 1 in Canada TV channel: TSN (English); RDS (French) Live stream: TSN DirectFor fans in Canada, TSN will carry the English-language telecast of races. For those looking for the French-language broadcast, RDS will have you covered.
Races can be streamed on fuboTV and via TSN's streaming service, TSN Direct.
How to watch Formula 1 in the United Kingdom TV channel: Sky Sports F1 Live stream: NOW TV / Sky Go appViewers in the United Kingdom can catch all F1 action on Sky Sports F1, the dedicated F1 channel. For viewers planning to live stream F1 in 2023, you can watch via the Sky Go app if you're an existing subscriber or you can purchase a Sky Sports Pass on NOW TV.
How to watch Formula 1 in Australia TV channel: Fox Sports; Channel 10 Live stream: KayoFox Sports will carry all races in Australia for the 2023 season.
