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Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates – Sprint Quali & Race
Saturday's action from the fourth round of the 2023 Formula 1 season
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F1 is in Baku for round four, with Charles Leclerc beating the Red Bulls to pole for Sunday's race yesterday afternoon.
Today will follow a different format, with a shorter sprint qualifying 'shootout' for this afternoon's sprint race.
It means drivers will get thrown right into competitive action this morning without a practice session to warm up.
Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda won’t be able to participate in the third part of sprint qualifying after taking a tyre gamble in qualifying.
The sprint shootout starts at 9.30am BST, with the sprint race getting underway at 2.30pm BST.
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After being unsuccessful in his efforts, Hamilton now drops back - but not exactly ideal preparation for the Mercedes driver.
Hamilton is desperately trying to get past Albon but to no avail - remember these two have a history of clashing...
Leclerc and Sainz do now join the fray, while it's the Red Bulls once again leading the field around.
Everyone bar Norris and the Ferraris instantly heads out for this one.
Green flag
So we're off and the second Baku pole position shootout is under way!
But Norris won't able to take part in this one because he doesn't have any new soft tyres that are mandated in this session, so Albon will therefore be starting at least ninth for the sprint race.
The Red Bulls have already headed out with three minutes to go before this session begins.
Alonso played a big part in helping Stroll get through at the end there as he gave Stroll a huge tow down the pit straight.
Sainz improved again late on to go third, but he's still four tenths off his team-mate as he continues to be some distance behind Leclerc.
Great job for Albon as he gets through for Williams in ninth, while Norris is again in the top 10 shootout.
So, that's it, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Magnussen and the crashed Sargeant out.
Hulkenberg improves but it's not enough, while Piastri jumps out of the top 10, but quickly gets shuffled back out by Stroll.
Hamilton improves to fifth late on, while Ocon bails into the pits so Alpine's misery continues.
Checkered flag
The chequered flag is now out and with Magnussen in the pits, he's certainly out.
Yellow flag
Sainz is the latest one in trouble as he goes straight on at Turn 15 but keeps out of the walls.
Leclerc improves again but stays second - although he's now just a tenth slower than Verstappen.
Sure enough, Russell now jumps up to seventh so it's Ocon, Piastri and the Haases in danger of elimination.
Russell is in a bit of trouble here, he's only 11th at the minute and on a better lap this time around.
Alonso now jumps up to fourth with his latest effort as everyone bar pacesetter Verstappen stays out.
Leclerc's opening effort is a 1m42.812s, which puts him second but four tenths slower than Verstappen.
It's Hulkenberg, who caused the earlier yellow as he locked up but, just, kept it out of the barriers.
But the leading contenders were already through that part of the course and Verstappen sets the early benchmark with a 1m42.417s to go half a second quicker than Perez.
Yellow flag
We've got a yellow already! This one in sector two.
So, without Gasly, everyone else has now headed out in this session - with the exception of the stricken Williams of Sargeant.
Quick update on Gasly from Alpine: "Unfortunately, a suspected exhaust leak meant Pierre’s running was compromised in SQ1, the team will investigate the cause." More strife for the team in blue.
Green flag
And we're off - SQ2 begins!
More trouble for Alonso as he's still suffering with DRS problems, which is not what you want on some of the long straights of Baku.
Unusually, it's the Red Bulls at the head of the queue. But, given this session is only 10 minutes, they're probably wary of further red flags.
And we've now got a stream of cars pouring out the garages with over two minutes to go before the start of the session!
Right, so sprint qualifying will resume at 1253 local time - in three minutes, in other words.
A furious radio response from Tsunoda as he's told of the red flag, just as he was about to set a time that could have got him out of the drop zone.
Unsurprisingly, given that crash, the start of SQ2 - as the next segment is called - has been delayed.
There's a fair bit of damage to that Williams, this could affect the gearbox and engine as well - so will be a major blow for the team. They've now got four hours to get that sorted for the sprint race.
Quote
"Man, the Ferraris were in the middle of the road," claims Sargeant - although that's a comment from someone who has just crashed and is a bit harsh on the Ferraris!
Replays show Sargeant clouted the wall on the outside of the corner, possibly distracted by some slow Ferraris on the inside.
It was a hefty hit for Sargeant, so Williams is the latest crew with plenty of work on its hands. He was 11th in that session, so it's a missed opportunity for the American.
So, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda, Gasly and de Vries are the five drivers out - not any huge surprises there.
With just 25s on the clock when Sargeant clouted the Turn 15 wall, that's the end of the session.
First one of the day and it's Sargeant - who had been doing so well for Williams. He's clouted the wall and done a fair bit of damage to the rear.
Red flag
And here we go, a red flag!
By: Autosport Staff
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