Hamilton laments 'pretty shocking' first sector in Baku F1 qualifying
Lewis Hamilton says a "pretty shocking" first two corners made the difference in qualifying for Formula 1's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after being beaten to pole by team-mate Valtteri Bottas
Bottas led a Mercedes one-two in Baku, helped by an interrupted qualifying session that included post-practice favourite Charles Leclerc crashing out in Q2.
Hamilton, who will line up second, said he never recovered from a "pretty shocking" first two corners.
He completed the first sector in 35.384s on his initial banker lap in Q3, but on his final lap he could only manage a 35.603s
"Valtteri did an exceptional job, it was a great result for us as a team," said Hamilton.
"Coming into this weekend it didn't look like we had the pace.
"Our race pace looked good but the pace in qualifying didn't look as close as we'd like to the Ferraris.
"We worked on the car, improved it today.
"Unfortunately my first two corners were pretty shocking, I had a small moment in Turn 1 and then Turn 2.
"Already by Turn 4 I think I was three tenths down.
"I recovered that in the next two sectors but unfortunately it wasn't enough."
The Mercedes drivers had trailed Ferrari by more than a second in final practice.
Asked if it was unexpected compared to his first pole of the season in the previous race in China, Bottas said: "You could say so yeah, definitely.
"After the practice yesterday and this morning we definitely saw Ferrari was extremely quick. Also Red Bull was quick.
"Going into qualifying it felt kind of out of reach, but you never know what can happen so we don't give up.
"In the end Charles went off and it was down to one lap at the end."
Bottas said the constant delays - after Robert Kubica had also crashed in Q1 in similar fashion to Leclerc in Q1 - meant conditions changed throughout qualifying.
Having snatched pole right at the end of Q3, he said: "Because everything was delayed and it was a lot cooler so the tricky bit was to get the tyres to work.
"And when it comes down to one lap on this kind of track the tow effect is quite important.
"I managed to get a pretty good gap to the car ahead.
"Also, it feels good to have a good lap when it matters."
Share Or Save This Story
The driver who can wreck F1's "super exciting" 2020 silly season
Red Bull's Verstappen now has basis for first F1 title challenge
Ferrari: Mick Schumacher a good candidate for seat in Formula 1
Formula 1: The groundbreaking women who drove in F1
Friday favourite: When a GP2 race winner “ate steering wheel” in Alpine's F1 winner
The potential pitfalls Mercedes is working to counter in 2021
The hidden consequences of F1’s cancelled races: Honda, Mercedes and upgrade plans
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia F1 races officially called off as Iran conflict rages
Why Neuville labels 2026 WRC Safari “probably the toughest rally ever”
Albon: Williams' 2026 weight problem "doesn't explain" performance deficit
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments