Max Verstappen will start Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix from second place on the grid after missing out on the top spot to Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc, the first time Red Bull has missed out on pole in 2023.
The pair had been closely matched on Friday, with Leclerc finishing second to Verstappen in the one and only practice session of the weekend in Baku.
Leclerc took the advantage in the first round of qualifying, but Verstappen was back in change in Q2. After their first runs in the final top ten pole shoot-out round, Verstappen and Leclerc were in a dead heat - right down to the thousandth of a second.
But their last runs saw Leclerc manage to go quicker with Verstappen failing to match his rival, missing out by 0.188s when the dust settled.
"It's always tough around here to really put the whole lap together," Verstappen said in parc ferme when interviewed by the media after the end of the session.
"I think also the second run we tried something different on the out-lap, which maybe was not ideal for the lap time at the end," he admitted.
"But around here, it's just really hard," he continued. "In Q3, you're on the limit and then trying to make everything perfect. It's not the easiest!
"But nevertheless, we're P2 we know that we have a very good race car so all in all, it's not bad,"he emphasised. "You always want to start ahead, but we'll have to pass one car."
Verstappen's team mate Sergio Perez was also in the mix throughout and will line-up in third place on the grid on Sunday, alongside Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.
Perez ended the session three tenths behind Leclerc, after an error in turn 3 on his final lap cost him valuable time.
"I'm a bit disappointed to be sitting in P3, because I felt definitely there was more in it," Perez said. "We knew coming here that the Ferrari was going to be the biggest threat to us. I think Charles has done a tremendous lap.
"It was really challenging," Perez said, pointing out that the stoppages in Q1 due to incidents for Pierre Gasly and Nyck de Vries had been problematic for everyone.
"It was pretty tricky in Q1 with the amount of red flags that we had there," he said, explaining that it had affected tyre strategy: "Sticking to the same set as you don't want to waste any more sets in Q1.
"That was difficult to warm up and just to get through without making mistakes, without much practice," he said. "My lap wasn't that clean, but if there's a circuit where you can race it is definitely here."
Before the Grand Prix, there will be a brand new challenge for everyone on Saturday. The morning will see a new 'Sprint Showdown' qualifying format setting the grid for an afternoon sprint race.
Championship points are on offer to the top eight, but unlike last year the sprint result won't impact the starting order for Sunday.
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