Qualifying Highlights | 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

In 14th position, the driver at risk. Oh, he brushes the Tech Pro. He brushes the barrier. The driver at risk was Nico Hülkenberg. Max Verstappen trying to extract all of it. This isn't Q3. There isn't pole position on the line. And how hard was the World Championship leader having to push around this circuit? Behrmann gets up tonight. The driver at risk is now Piastri. Verstappen's going to cross the line in the drop zone. He's had to go again. Verstappen, Gasly, Stroll, Ocon and Joe who will start last. Verstappen comes over the line and gets it up to third behind his old teammate Alex Albon. The McLarens are still at risk. They need a clean run to the line. Stroll goes to ninth. Sainz is 13th as well. He's in danger. Drops down to 14th as Gasly goes third in an Alpine. Great lap from him. And Alpine have not looked like they've had that pace at any stage of the weekend. It's why you want to be the last car over the line. We're on board with one-time Grand Prix winner Oskar Piastri who will get up to third position when it matters. Norris is a few meters back. Hamilton is down to 12th place. But Sainz is at risk. Norris needs this track to stay green. It does so. And he will come over the line to try and improve. He's on for a personal best. No, he's boxed! He's boxed! He's coming into the pits. Lando Norris is in the drop zone. The driver second in the World Championship will fall at the first hurdle. There was a brief yellow flag in the final sector and I wonder if Norris caused it or caught it because he was improving and he couldn't and he's out. Extraordinary. Mate, I'm sorry. This was Norris over the kerb skateboarding down the kerb and he has it all to do in the Grand Prix tomorrow. That's a solid hit from Max. That's a solid hit of the Tech Pro. There's a bit of give in it and you can see that there. Unlike that one for Esteban Ocon hitting the concrete wall and not getting away with it. So mighty fine differences between the Alpine and the Red Bull. Norris has gone. That's the major shock and that is a big twist in the context of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. And Russell will hope that this gets him into the higher echelons of the field and books his place through fourth position for George Russell. Lewis Hamilton will be the next driver to set a lap time on the board. We go on board with the seven-time World Champion. Yuki Tsunoda has just gone up to eighth position. Where does Hamilton go across the line? It's good enough for seventh. Bearman's first sector is half a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton. He has just done a tremendous first sector. He's not done a tremendous middle sector though. It's not an easy circuit to put the whole lap together. Hülkenberg has come through and not improved. So Bearman will out-qualify Hülkenberg. But as he drives to the line, can he get into the top ten? Big moment for Oliver Bearman. Colopinto goes up to fifth position. Extraordinary performance. That's one driver in his second ever Formula One qualifying session. What about the other one? He's got himself to tenth place. But Alonso's going quick. And Alonso knocks him out immediately. Fifth position for Fernando Alonso. What a start. Bearman misses out by a tenth. He's ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hülkenberg and Lance Stroll as we reach the end of Q2. This is the part of the circuit where the Mercedes is superb. Straight line speed. Ultimate power. Sweeping round to the end of the lap to the chequered flag where it will wait in seven minutes and 30 seconds time. Piastri has the best middle sector so far. He has a really strong power unit in the back of the car. Same as Russell. Same as Hamilton. Russell over the line. 1.41.9 to beat. Hamilton next up. Sainz is the fastest man in the first sector. Leclerc is the fastest man in the middle sector. Piastri's going quickly as well. Hamilton to second as we go on board with Oscar Piastri. Who goes ahead of both Mercedes? Great sector time in the middle part of the lap. But Leclerc takes it away. The master of this configuration is ahead of Piastri, Russell and Hamilton. Sainz gets close. Two tenths of a second away. Ferrari's one and two at the moment. Still lap times to come from both Red Bulls. But it's not been Verstappen's best lap so far. It's not been the cleanest as he marches up towards the line. Ferrari one, two. Two tenths separating. Then Piastri's right there as well. And Verstappen comes through. He's only fifth. Only fifth behind Russell, Piastri and the two Ferraris. Albon goes ahead of Alonso. What can we see from the second Williams? He goes behind his teammate. Eighth on the grid is impressive for Franco Colopinto in only his second Grand Prix. Perez has an outqualified Max Verstappen all year long. But he's put his teammate down to sixth place. Verstappen through the final corner. Well there's time to be found and he will be delighted that that happened on run one and not run two. That kerb again at turn 16. No way! Alex Albon still has the airbox fan attached and he is pulled to the side of the road. He's got no way to get back to the pits and he knows he has to park up. Otherwise he'd get pinged for being in an unsafe condition. Can he get the marshals to remove it? Please just grab it and we can carry on. He's now chucked it. He's gonna have to run over. He's got the dry ice as well behind him on the left hand side. A bizarre one. A bizarre one operationally for Williams. The chequered flag is waving. First driver over the line will be George Russell and then the others will get a chance to respond. Piastri is rapid in the middle part of the lap. We have a battle for pole position as Russell cuts the beam. Where does he go? Improves his lap time, not his place. His teammate is next over the line. Lewis Hamilton tries to get beyond the red balls. Can he do it? No. He too improves his time but not his position. Leclerc's hooking it up. Leclerc's on a very good middle sector. But first of all Oscar Piastri. Can he get pole? No. He misses out by seven hundredths of a second. Perez has done the best first sector of anyone. Can Sainz take it back? No. He misses out on the front row. Here comes Charles Leclerc to take it further away from the rest of the field. Colopinto is ahead of Albon with the Williamses for the red balls. It's Verstappen up to fifth. Sergio Perez reply. Here it comes across the line and it's up to fourth for the first time this season. The lead red ball on the grid will be Sergio Perez. No one had an answer to the low fuel attacking pace of Charles Leclerc who has taken pole in Baku for the fourth time in a row.