Chaotic slide qualifying in Baku seeing defiance by Verstappen
In a dramatic turn of events, Max Verstappen clinched his 46th career pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session. The two-hour-long session, which typically lasts an hour, was filled with interruptions as several cars needed to be recovered from the track.
Charles Leclerc, the pole sitter for the past four years, was not so lucky this time. An accident during the qualifying session caused significant damage to his car, forcing him to retire early. Ferrari was caught out, as Leclerc plowed into the barriers.
Despite the incident, Leclerc managed to make it into the top ten. On the other hand, Oscar Piastri, the current championship runner-up, advanced to third place despite hitting the track barriers with his McLaren. Piastri also crashed his car during the session.
Max Verstappen's pole position was hard-earned, with Lando Norris hot on his heels. Norris finished in seventh place, but set the second-fastest lap time in the session. Verstappen, however, set the fastest lap, edging Norris by a small margin.
Lewis Hamilton, who made a strong impression in Friday's practice session, faltered in the qualifying session. He settled for 12th place, blaming his tire strategy for his poor performance.
Carlos Sainz finished in second place, while Liam Lawson claimed third. Kimi Antonelli finished in fourth place, and Nico Hülkenberg, who achieved the fastest training lap in Baku, ended up in 17th place after crashing the front of his Sauber into the track limits during the qualifying session.
Hülkenberg's crash interrupted the practice, adding to the session's length. Fortunately, no heavy crashes occurred, but multiple cars were left stranded.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix promises to be an exciting race, with Verstappen starting from pole position and Hamilton starting from the middle of the pack. The race is set to take place on Sunday.
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