F1 Azerbaijan GP live commentary and updates – qualifying
Follow along for Formula 1 qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit
Live Standings
Live Text
Very weird incident for Colapinto then. He saw Gasly in the run-off, presumably saw the yellow flags too, but was going full pelt until he lost the rear and clouted the barrier.
That's both Alpines out in Q1, plus a Sauber, a Haas, and a Williams.
The start of Q2 will be delayed for the clean-up operation.
Eliminated in Q1
16. Colapinto
17. Hulkenberg
18. Ocon
19. Gasly
20. Albon
Bortoleto gets up to 11th, and Stroll books his place into Q2 with eighth, as does Alonso.
We then get a red flag, as Gasly's off the Turn 4 run-off. Colapinto then hits the wall in sympathy, and he's out of the car - and out of the session.
Ocon, Stroll, Albon, Bortoleto, and Hulkenberg are on the bubble.
Bearman gets up to 11th, and Ocon only gets up to 14th. Hadjar falls into the bottom five, but gets a tow off a McLaren and fires up to fifth. Ocon is out.
Russell goes to first, with a 1m41.646s. Antonelli bags sixth, so that should be safe.
Leclerc then posts a 1m41.458s, before Norris does a 1m41.322s.
Verstappen is just 0.009s shy of Norris, as he loses time in the middle sector.
Hulkenberg is back out to try and salvage something from his Q1.
Antonelli, meanwhile, is finding some time on his current best - he just needs to finish it. Leclerc, Verstappen, and Norris are also flying in sector 1.
And we're back! It's definitely looking a touch breezy out there; Baku's foliage certainly looks lively.
This is it: who's going to make it through?
"You've got loads of time, six and a half minutes. Just one clean lap," Toto Wolff says to Antonelli.
That's a "giddy up" as Antonelli is still sans laptime.
Verstappen was on a lap that got nipped in the bud by the red flag; he might need to go again - as might Norris.
Thing is, there's already a big queue: Sainz, the Haases, the Racing Bulls, and Aston Martins are already there with their towels down.
Amid the skirmish, we missed Hamilton setting a 1m41.821s to go fastest.
Bit trigger-happy with that red? Either way, Piastri got lucky there - last year, Norris encountered a yellow flag at a crunch moment in Q1 and didn't make it through.
Antonelli has work to do, however, as that lap was indeed deleted.
Antonelli gets a snap through sector two as he tries to get a lap in on the mediums. He's wide at Turn 16, so this lap's not going to count either.
Piastri now comes around to finish his lap, and gets up to second - MOMENTS before a red flag. Hulkenberg hit the wall at Turn 4, although he's managed to back up and reverse away.
Both Antonelli and Piastri are yet to get laps on the board. Antonelli has been noted for a yellow flag infringement as he emerged on a flying lap moments behind Albon's wall-clout.
Q1 resumes
Pierre Gasly leads the pack out of the pitlane. Alonso, Stroll, Russell, and Tsunoda also hit the road.
Lawson gets wheeled back into the pits, having failed to get ahead of the McLarens in the queue. No point being at the back on cold tyres...
We're going to get going in three minutes' time. Everyone bursts out of the pits to try and get a good place in the queue.
An Alpine rather chopped across one of the McLarens there - no pushing, lads.
Ocon reported that there was a "branch on my rear right corner". Hopefully the Haas mechanics are able to twig where the root cause is, and are oak-ay to fix it.
Albon turned into the opening corner to start his lap, but just got too close to the inside kerb and clunked the wall with his front left.
As he's P15 at the moment, he's surely going to be our first elimination from Q1.
Red flag - Albon's hit the inside wall at Turn 1. Piastri was on a lap, but is currently time-less as the session is paused.
Lawson gets a 1m42.448s to go top, so still over a second shy of our FP3 headliner from Norris.
Leclerc then crosses the line and posts a 1m41.982s. Hamilton is 0.7s behind.
Norris and Verstappen run on mediums; Norris is up to second, but that's overlapped by Verstappen.
Albon starts a lap, but gets traffic in the shape of a Ferrari through Turn 4 and loses a few tenths in sector one.
The Thai driver opens with a 1m43.778s, which is...well, it's one of the many laps we'll see today.
Bearman beats him by 0.6s, Hulkenberg was periously close to the biffing it at the Turn 15 wall, and Sainz then does a 1m42.635s.
The McLarens aren't going anywhere just yet - Piastri's getting his nose put on.
Soft tyres for all except Tsunoda, who's on the medium - expect others to try the yellow-walled tyre, as they carry a couple of new sets into qualifying.
Q1 is open for business
Green light! Racers, you may proceed...Albon, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, and co kick us off.
It's windy. Very windy.
There's a hefty queue at the pitlane exit already, seeing pretty much most of the field there. Some eager beavers as they want to get a banker lap in.
Five minutes to qualifying!
The green light will sparkle shortly at the end of the pit lane - and we'll be away for what should be an entertaining qualifying session.
Step 1: Get a good lap in early.
Step 2: Don't crash
Step 3: ????
Step 4: Profit
Run like the wind
Baku's known as the City of Winds for a reason: because it's completely still and it's a sarcastic epithet.
Being serious: it does get very gusty around Baku - and the relatively tall buildings around each street tends to create little windy channels around the circuit. The wind in FP3 was a headwind into Turn 1, but then moved to a cross-wind along that start-finish straight.
So, it will be a factor - and it'll make some of the corners very tough to brake for.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team
Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images
The pole contenders: Norris has the edge on scrappy Piastri
Neither McLaren driver has had a clean weekend thus far, although Lando Norris did well to recover from yesterday's suspension-shattering wall-slap to headline FP3.
The Briton found good pace in the later stages of the session, while Piastri dealt with a scruffy session that precluded him from demonstrating his ultimate pace. A slide out of Turn 4, and a subsequent off at Turn 1, meant that he has work to do in qualifying proper.
But it's Oscar Piastri. He'll shake it off.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Pauline Ballet - Formula 1
The pole contenders: The Max factor
Max Verstappen rather suggested that he had a bit more in his pocket with some of his sector times in FP3, as Red Bull did its usual trick of finding performance overnight.
Recent developments have given the RB21 some new-found stability, and Verstappen will be counted on to make the most of it through qualifying.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Ozan Kose / AFP via Getty Images
The pole contenders: Hamilton's braking breakthrough
Lewis Hamilton was at the top of the timesheets in FP2, and remained among the contenders in FP3. He reckoned that a breakthrough in his braking set-up for FP2 has given him much more confidence across the weekend thus far.
Will this translate to qualifying? If it does, it's a good demonstration of Ferrari's progress through the year.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
The pole contenders: Can Leclerc make it five in a row?
One man who has the balance is Charles Leclerc, who has claimed the previous four pole positions available in Azerbaijan. He was only 10th in FP3, but that was due to a slight miscue on his final flying lap.
His pole time last year was a 1m41.365s, a time Lewis Hamilton surpassed in FP2 - which, in turn, Lando Norris beat in FP3 with his 1m41.223s.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Azerbaijan GP secures contract extension to 2030
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will remain on the Formula 1 calendar until 2030 after the series signed a four-year contract extension with the Baku organisers.
The race, which is generously backed by Baku's long standing regime, was set to host its final race of its current contract next year, but will now continue to be a mainstay on the F1 calendar.
More to follow below.
Azerbaijan GP secures F1 contract extension until 2030
Formula 1 will continue racing through the streets of Baku until at least 2030
Azerbaijan GP qualifying coming soon!
Hello again, or if you're just joining us - welcome! Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will get going in an hour's time.
We'll take you through qualifying step by step, as usual, right up until the final denouement.
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
