Charles Leclerc took his fourth consecutive Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole with a convincing display in qualifying putting the Ferrari more than three tenths quicker than McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Sainz proved the Scuderia was in fine form this weekend, with third putting him alongside Sergio Perez on tomorrow's grid after the Mexican out-performed his team mate Max Verstappen in Q3.
It was an impressive session for Williams with Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon both in the top ten, but disaster for Lando Norris who had to abort his final Q1 run due to yellow flags and missed the first cut, leaving him P17..
Heading into qualifying for Sunday's race, there had been three different names topping the practice sessions - Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell in FP3 - but this was barely the tip of the list of names in contention for pole. At least there was no rain to worry about, with sunshine back in play after the light sprinkling during final practice.
Q1: Leclerc quickest ahead of a flying Albon, but Norris caught out by yellows
Oliver Bearman was among the first out, his Haas fully repaired after his late accident in FP3. Also back up and running was Esteban Ocon after his Alpine's power unit issue. There was a brief Williams 1-2 at the top for Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon, but soon it was the usual suspects in charge of proceedings. Sergio Perez set the pace with 1:43.436s ahead of Charles Leclerc, Sainz then jumped into second before subsequently taking to an escape road, and Colapinto was by no means done as he returned to third.
Leclerc presented a new lap of 1:42.775s to go top, leaving Perez half a second in arrears. George Russell got a tow on his latest run and improved to second, but only a little faster than Perez. Hamilton had been dawdling around the drop zone but now found proper pace to go fourth.
Things were looking distinctly dicey for Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Zhou Guanyu. The Chinese driver already had a grid penalty for an engine change so he spent his time offering Bottas a tow. Verstappen was briefly backed into the elimination zone having been unhappy with his car mid-session, but his last run moved him comfortably safe.
Now it was McLaren feeling the heat. With one last chance for both drivers to avoid missing the cut, Oscar Piastri made it - but Lando Norris didn't. A brief yellow flag for debris from Ocon's car forced him to abort his lap, leaving him P17. Also eliminated were Ricciardo, Bottas, Zhou and Ocon.
Leclerc's time was enough for top spot with Albon confirming Williams' pace in second ahead of Piastri. Alpine's Pierre Gasly was fourth ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen and Hulkenberg. Colapinto was safely through in eighth ahead of Russell and Perez, Bearman also making the cut in P14 ahead of Fernando Alonso.
Q2: Verstappen pips Leclerc as Williams continue strong run
Piastri took early control of the timings with a lap of 1:42.598s putting him two tenths ahead of Russell, but the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez soon took charge. The Red Bull found half a second over the McLaren despite a scrappy final sector for Verstappen.
Colapinto, Alonso, Gasly, Tsunoda and Lance Stroll were all in the drop zone after the initial runs. Ferrari were last to go, Leclerc up to second with Sainz fourth, but Leclerc was unhappy that the team wasn't making the most of the tow with its tactics. After that everyone was back into the pit lane to take on fresh tyres before their final push laps, just Perez staying put in the garage.
Lots of drivers improved in the final minute but the track appeared to have reached a plateau. There are no purple sectors on the timing screens although Leclerc split the Bulls at the top, Russell jumped up to fourth ahead of a great final lap from Alonso finding safety.
A sensational Colapinto was also into Q3 in his second race weekend in sixth, having out-paced Sainz, Piastri and Hamilton. Albon was also through in tenth, just nudging Ollie Bearman out of the final round. The other drivers left in the cold were Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll.
Q3: Leclerc clinches pole from Piastri, Sainz pips Perez and Russell
It was a quiet start to the final round, the cars initially staying put as they sought opportunities to set up a tow. Russell was out first ahead of Hamilton, both Mercedes cars on fresh tyres, Piastri next on used softs. Then it was Ferrari's Sainz and Leclerc followed by Alonso and Verstappen. Albon and Colapinto had successfully injected themselves ahead of Perez to split the Bulls.
Russell set the initial pace with 1:41.962s, Hamilton complaining of low tyre temperatures a long way back. Piastri beat that, as did Sainz before Leclerc found an extra two tenths to take provisional pole on 1:41.610s. Verstappen had a big slide in turn 16 costing him time and leaving him sixth behind Perez.
There was time for one last volley of flying laps. With no tow for Russell, he was fourth and Hamilton seventh. Piastri was next; while it wasn't enough to challenge Leclerc's latest time of 1:41.365s it was good enough for the front row spot. Sainz was third ahead of Perez pushing Russell down to P5 ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton and Alonso.
Albon's final run was compromised by an air fan left on his car. He stopped at pit exit and tried to hand the offending unit to a marshal but the gift was declined. He throw it to the side but wasn't able to reach the start line in time. A penalty for unsafe release is inevitable.
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