Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position for Formula 1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix during an incident-filled qualifying session that was heavily disrupted as Charles Leclerc crashed out. Despite appearing well off the pace of Ferrari all weekend, the Mercedes duo took advantage of Leclerc’s error in Q2 to lock-out the front-row of the grid in Baku, with Bottas edging Hamilton by just 0.059s in what was a thrilling end to qualifying. Hamilton had sat on provisional pole following the opening salvo of runs, but Bottas left it late to turn in a 1m40.495s on his final flying effort to pip his teammate to a second consecutive pole. Sebastian Vettel was unable to challenge as he ended up third and 0.302s off the pace in what turned out to be a disappointing qualifying session for the Scuderia, with Leclerc blowing a great opportunity to claim pole with his shunt. Max Verstappen sealed an encouraging fourth on the grid for Red Bull-Honda, while Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat starred to take fifth and sixth respectfully for Racing Point and Toro Rosso. McLaren’s Lando Norris was two tenths back in seventh, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi, who out-qualified Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen in his first-ever Q3 appearance. Despite setting the eighth-best time, the Italian is set to drop 10 places for taking on new power unit components. Despite a costly error that saw him crash out in Q2, Leclerc is set to start inside the top ten on the grid. The Monegasque driver, who had dominated for much of the weekend, slammed into the barriers at Turn 8 and caused a second red flag period of qualifying. “I am stupid,” was the critical self-assessment from Leclerc over team radio, who cut a visibly frustrated figure as he emerged from the cockpit of his wrecked SF90 and upon his return to the Ferrari garage. Behind Leclerc came McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo in 11th and 12th respectively, as Alexander Albon took 13th ahead of Kevin Magnussen despite clouting the walls on his final run. Pierre Gasly did not venture out during an interrupted Q2 in a bid to save tyres with the Frenchman set for a pitlane start after picking up a penalty for missing the weighbridge during Friday practice. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, who has so far failed to progress from Q1 this season, one again dropped out in the first part of qualifying and ended up 16th. Romain Grosjean conceded he had “no pace” as he struggled to 17th in his Haas, while Nico Hulkenberg was the slowest driver barring the Williams duo as the German proved to be the biggest scalp of Q1. The Renault driver had to abort his first qualifying run when he came across yellow flags following a lock-up for Hamilton, before making a costly error on his final flying effort, leaving him with a time only good enough for 18th. Despite completing the fewest amount of laps of any driver after being forced to sit out of second practice following his drain-cover-induced incident in FP1, George Russell recovered to convincingly outpace Williams teammate Robert Kubica, who brought out a late red flag with a heavy crash at the end of Q1. Kubica clipped the inside wall at Turn 8 and rebounded into the barriers on the outside of the corner at the bottom of the castle section of the circuit, bringing the session to a premature conclusion. The accident - which delayed the start of Q2 by 15 minutes while barrier repairs were carried out - destroyed the front-end of Kubica’s FW42, adding to Williams’ lengthy list of problems in what has turned into a nightmare weekend for the beleaguered outfit.<doc-sep>Clive Mason/Getty Images Ferrari posted the two quickest times in the second free practice on an eventful but limited day of practice sessions at the 2019 Azerbaijan Formula One grand prix in Baku. Charles Leclerc registered a quicker time than team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was third-fastest with a personal-best time on this circuit. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen split the Mercedes drivers, posting a time faster than Valtteri Bottas. The first practice session was stopped prematurely due to a dislodged manhole cover that damaged the Williams vehicle of George Russell, per James Galloway of Sky Sports F1. Leclerc wasn't going to be deterred in his bid to post the quickest laps, not even after he collided with the wall: The Monaco native was firing a warning to Mercedes about his team's capability to close the gap in the standings come race day. While Bottas was struggling to answer the challenge, Hamilton was at least doing his best to produce laps closer to Leclerc's speed: It wasn't all about Mercedes and Ferrari, though. Red Bull was managing a creditable showing, thanks largely to the efforts of Verstappen, who made the most of a smart tyre change: Video Play Button Videos you might like There was an interruption when Racing Point's Lance Stroll went into the barriers early on. After the events of the abbreviated FP1, red flags were becoming a familiar sight. After yet another red flag after Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat went into the barriers at Turn 7, Ferrari took the chance to get back on track first. Leclerc and Vettel went in pursuit of longer runs, opting for controlled driving, rather than choosing to put their cars through their paces. Leclerc was on the softs, but the choice didn't make much difference in terms of speed over Hamilton. The defending champion was travelling swiftly enough on the mediums. There was a late clash between Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen as the session drew to a close. The Haas driver appeared to cut across Hamilton, resulting in the front wing of the Mercedes car being clipped. While it wasn't a major incident, the slight coming together seemed like a fitting way to end a day littered with red flags and undone by an on-track hazard.<doc-sep>Valtteri Bottas brilliantly denied Lewis Hamilton pole position in a dramatic Azerbaijan GP qualifying as Mercedes again upstaged Ferrari, who saw Charles Leclerc crash out. ​​​​​​Ferrari had comfortably appeared favourites for the front row before the session but, not for the first time this year, their promise evaporated when it mattered most. Practice pacesetter Leclerc crashed out in Q2, while Sebastian Vettel was outpaced by both Bottas and Hamilton as the trio vied for the leading position on the final lap. Bottas' lap of 1:40.495 - a track record - won pole by a margin of 0.059s. "Another day in this 2019 season that coulda, shoulda, woulda been Ferrari's day turned out to be Mercedes'," said Sky Sports F1's David Croft. 1:40 Charles Leclerc hits the barriers in the same place Robert Kubica crashed during Q2 of the Azerbaijan GP Charles Leclerc hits the barriers in the same place Robert Kubica crashed during Q2 of the Azerbaijan GP Leclerc will start down in ninth after the 21-year-old got caught out at the narrow castle chicane of Turn Eight and slammed into the barriers. "I am stupid, I am stupid," raged Leclerc on team radio as he rebuked himself. He stood by his harsh self-criticism when speaking to Sky F1 afterwards, while added on social media that his performance had been "useless". "For the next three or four hours I will be beating myself up," added Leclerc. That incident, plus a near-identical shunt for Williams' Robert Kubica in Q1, meant qualifying was twice suspended and ultimately ran for nearly two hours as temperatures dropped sharply around Baku's city streets. Max Verstappen qualified a very competitive fourth for Red Bull after setting the pace in Q2, while Baku expert Sergio Perez secured a brilliant, season-best fifth for Racing Point. 2:04 Robert Kubica hits the barriers at turn eight during Q1 of the Azerbaijan GP Robert Kubica hits the barriers at turn eight during Q1 of the Azerbaijan GP Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso and McLaren's Lando Norris, making Q3 for the third time in four attempts, completed the top seven ahead of the Alfa Romeo drivers, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen. Giovnazzi joined Raikkonen in the top 10 for the first this year, outqualifying the more experienced Finn, but will drop down the grid owing to a 10-place penalty for engine changes. Red Bull's Pierre Gasly, who was quickest in Q1, sat out Q2 ahead of his pit-lane demotion for missing the weighbridge in practice. Renault, meanwhile, endured a horrid session as neither of their cars made the top 10. Daniel Ricciardo finished 12th, while Nico Hulkenberg dropped out in Q1. Today was a great example of never giving up even if the numbers show you may not have what it takes to be number 1. We kept our cool, delivered in tough conditions and managed to out perform a faster car. Great job from the team collectively 💪🏾 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/aMk9AYcooY — Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) April 27, 2019 Mercedes make a mockery of own prediction Whether or not playing mind games, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said before qualifying that Ferrari were "almost untouchable" for pole position given the Scuderia had dominated practice. Yet during the course the incident-filled, marathon qualifying session that followed the performance pendulum swung away from Ferrari and towards their biggest rivals and the championship leaders. "I don't know if they stole it, I think they were a bit quicker than us today," conceded Vettel, who finished 0.3s adrift of pole. 1:23 Charles Leclerc blamed himself for crashing out during qualifying and missing out on a potential pole position. Charles Leclerc blamed himself for crashing out during qualifying and missing out on a potential pole position. "For me it started a bit slow, towards the end it was getting better but it was quite tricky, the session was very long, the sun was going down. It was difficult to find the right balance of pushing in the out lap and playing with tow." Bottas said: "It's all about small margins and I got a good tow on the last lap. The corners I had to drive as well but it's fine details and I hit the sweet spot." That makes it two poles in a row for Bottas this year but Hamilton, who beat his team-mate off the line a fortnight ago in China, was more than satisfied to play his part in the unexpected Silver Arrows lockout. "Honestly I did not think I would be on the front row today," the world champion told Sky F1. "I'm always hopeful but the Ferraris were showing pace we couldn't really truly match. I don't know what happened to Seb, I think he didn't get a tow which was where he was missing out as that's worth four or five tenths. "We'll definitely take it, should have been on pole but Valtteri did a great job. I fluffed Turn One and Two, I came out of Turn Two three tenths down to my previous lap." Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Timesheet Driver Team Time 1) Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:40.495 2) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.554 3) Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:40.797 4) Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:41.069 5) Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:41.593 6) Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:41.681 7) Lando Norris McLaren 1:41.886 8) Antonio Giovinazzi* Alfa Romeo 1:42.424 9) Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:43.068 10) Charles Leclerc Ferrari No time Out in Q2 11) Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:42.398 12) Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:42.477 13) Alexander Albon Toro Rosso 1:42.494 14) Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:42.699 15) Pierre Gasly** Red Bull No time Out in Q1 16) Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:42.630 17) Romain Grosjean Haas 1:43.407 18) Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:43.427 19) George Russell Williams 1:45.062 20) Robert Kubica Williams 1:45.455 *10 place grid penalty **Pit-lane start Watch the Azerbaijan GP live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday at 1pm. Sky Sports is the home of live and exclusive F1. Find out more here to watch the 2019 season live<doc-sep>Formula 1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton says a “pretty shocking” first sector was the key to him missing out on pole position during Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying. Hamilton had led the way after the opening salvo of runs in Q3 but it was Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas who pipped him to a second consecutive pole right at the end of a dramatic session that had already seen pre-qualifying favourite Charles Leclerc crash out. The reigning world champion turned in a scruffy first sector split before recovering time in the rest of the lap, but it was not enough as he wound up 0.059s shy of claiming pole. “Firstly, Valtteri did an exceptional job and it was a great result for us as a team,” Hamilton said. “Coming into the weekend it didn’t look like we had the pace. Our race pace looked good, but the pace in qualifying we thought we might not be as close as we would like to the Ferraris. But we worked on the car and improved it today. “Unfortunately my first two corners were pretty shocking. I had a small moment in Turn 1 and then in Turn 2. So already by Turn 4 I think I was three tenths down. “But I recovered that in the next two sectors but unfortunately it wasn’t enough, and Valtteri did a great job.” Hamilton had been running in close formation behind Bottas on his last outlap as a queue of cars jostled to ensure they had enough of a gap before starting their respective final efforts. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said both his driver’s outlaps were compromised as a result. “This weekend it was Lewis who could decide who was running first, and for obvious reasons he decided Valtteri should be running first,” he explained. “But then when we were bunched up behind everybody else we didn’t expect so many cars going out right behind us, bunched up behind. “Lewis and Valtteri’s out-laps were compromised. You can see that Lewis lost all the time in sector one and then had a really good second and third sector.”<doc-sep>
Mark Thompson/Getty Images Valtteri Bottas will start the 2019 Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday after beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to top spot in a dramatic qualifying session. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took third place behind the two Silver Arrows, but team-mate Charles Leclerc will start down in 10th place after crashing in Q2. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen will start alongside Vettel in fourth, while Racing Point's Sergio Perez will start from an impressive fifth place on the grid. Here are the results from qualifying: Ferrari dominated the practice sessions and did the same early during the first qualifying session, as Leclerc became the first driver to duck underneath the one-minute, 42-second mark. Mercedes took some time finding their footing but eventually improved, bridging the gap there had been during practice. Red Bull also found some pace late in the session, with Pierre Gasly knocking the Monegasque out of the top spot. The Frenchman knew his eventual finishing position in qualifying wouldn't mean much, as he'll start from the pit lane: Video Play Button Videos you might like Renault struggled in FP2 and didn't have a great outing in FP3, either, and their start to qualifying was hardly ideal. Minutes into the first session, Daniel Ricciardo was told the team had no data, leaving him without crucial info on a busy track: The Australian eventually worked himself out of the drop zone after a difficult session, shortly before Williams' Robert Kubica shunted, bringing out the red flag. Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean were among the drivers to miss out on Q2. The shunt was a big one: Drivers were forced to wait while the track was cleared, adding an extra element of strategy. As the temperature dropped, Ferrari took a risk by opting for medium tyres, while everyone else ventured out on the soft compound. Leclerc's first time was reasonably close to that of the Silver Arrows, but Vettel was well off the pace. Once Perez went faster than the younger Ferrari driver, it became clear the Scuderia had made a tactical error. But things got much worse for the team shortly after. Leclerc, who had been the fastest man on track for most of the weekend, hit the wall in the same spot Kubica did, ending his session. The 21-year-old was furious with himself: The crash brought out another red flag and another delay. Liquid coming from the car made things more difficult for the marshals, and the lengthy break meant the end of the session would take place in the fading light. The session eventually restarted with Carlos Sainz, Ricciardo, Alexander Albon, Kevin Magnussen and Gasly all missing out on Q3. Ricciardo will start down in 12th place in the Renault: The final session saw Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel all vying for pole position in a dramatic finish. Bottas was the man to come up with the goods, setting a new track record of 1:40.495 to secure top spot ahead of Hamilton and secure an all Mercedes front row.