Vettel takes pole in Baku ahead of Hamilton and Bottas

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position.

He will be joined on the front row by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on the top spot in qualifying by 0.179s. Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas will line-up in third place on the grid, alongside Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

Haas' Romain Grosjean was the biggest casualty of the first round when his car suffered a gearbox failure before he was able to set a time.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Qualifying

Q1: Gearbox woes for Grosjean, Toro Rosso near-miss

Overcast conditions in Baku were keeping track temperatures cooler than expected, and the gusty winds were starting to pick up in strength as drivers headed out for the first 18-minute round of qualifying. Nervous of the conditions and the likelihood of yellow flags, almost everyone leapt into action with the exception of Force India's Sergio Perez and both Red Bulls.

Sure enough, yellow flags were soon out for Romain Grosjean who has taken to the run-off in turn 3. Moments later the Haas pulled over again, with Grosjean reporting a gearbox failure over the team radio. Drivers had to spin their wheels while the VF-18 was recovered, and only when the track went green again was it time to get back to flying lap runs.

By now the Red Bulls had joined the fray, and Daniel Ricciardo went top with a time of 1:43.259s. It was a third of a second faster than team mate Max Verstappen, but not good enough to hold up against the two Ferraris which clocked in shortly afterwards. Raikkonen took the top spot with 1:42.538s, 0.224s ahead of Vettel.

Verstappen soon improved to insert himself between the two Ferraris in second place, with Hamilton subsequently half a tenth behind in third followed by Vettel and Ricciardo. Esteban Ocon caught everyone's attention by putting himself into sixth place ahead of Bottas, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg.

Charles Leclerc found surprise pace to finish the session in 11th ahead of Perez. Also through to the second round of qualifying were McLaren's Fernando Alonso and the two Williams of Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll.

Just missing out was the second McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne, and Marcus Ericsson in the other Sauber. Joining them on the sidelines were the two Toro Rossos, after a frightening high-speed near-collision between Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley in turn 14, when the Kiwi's pace had been compromised by a puncture. Also out of the running was Grosjean, who had failed to set a time before his gearbox issues struck.

Q2: Raikkonen leaves it late to go top

Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all had an eye on race strategy when they emerged for their first Q2 run on supersoft tyres. Everyone else was straight onto the faster but shorter-lived ultrasofts. Bottas went top with a time of 1:42.679s to put him 0.222s ahead of Verstappen and Vettel, while Raikkonen's first effort ended up in the run-off at turn 15.

Hamilton had locked up on his warm-up lap which led to a mediocre first effort, well behind the front runners and certainly not safely through to Q3. However his next attempt was much better, and he vaulted him to the top with a time of 1:42.676s - a mere three thousandths ahead of Bottas.

Raikkonen's day wasn't getting any better. A big lock-up in the first sector flat-spotted his tyres before he could set a proper time, forcing him to pit for fresh rubber. Everyone soon rejoined him back out on track, and even the leaders were now out on ultrasofts as a precaution to safeguard against any surprises. The change of compound proved just the tonic for Raikkonen, who jumped to the top with a time of 1:42.510s.

Ocon was once again looking very much in form and went fifth fastest as the chequered flag came out, pushing Vettel down to sixth ahead of Hulkenberg, Perez and Sainz. Ricciardo narrowly avoided elimination and was tenth fastest after feeling safe enough to abort his precautionary lap on ultrasofts.

Stroll and Sirotkin both narrowly missed out on progressing to the final round. The Williams pair will start Sunday's race ahead of Alonso, Leclerc and Magnussen on the grid.

Q3: Vettel stamps his authority to clinch pole

Fresh ultrasofts were the favoured choice for drivers heading out for the final top ten pole shoot-out. Verstappen was the first to set a time with a lap of 1:42.017s, with his team mate four tenths off after brushing the wall on his run.

Mercedes then took over the top two spots with Hamilton leading Bottas by a tenth. But the Silver Arrows' supremacy lasted only a matter of seconds before Vettel took command with a time of 1:41.498s, over a third of a second faster than Hamilton.

Raikkonen wasn't as quick on his first run and only managed sixth behind the two Red Bulls. After the Finn, Ocon and Perez were followed by Hulkenberg and Sainz in a two-by-two team formation for Force India and Renault respectively.

After a return to pit lane for fresh tyres, everyone was back out for one final push. Hamilton improved his time but not his position. Raikkonen looked on course to challenge for pole, only to run wide and suffer a tank-slapper in the final sector that left him in sixth place. Ricciardo caught up with him on track to gain a tow which helped him finish in fourth ahead of Verstappen.

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