Pole position and third place. Ferrari arrived in Baku with a good level of confidence, fueling the ambition to be among the weekend’s main contenders. So far, the team hasn’t just been among the frontrunners but has been the team to beat, thanks in part to Charles Leclerc, who once again excelled between the walls of the Azerbaijani capital.
However, Carlos Sainz also showed solid form, securing third place just a tenth behind Oscar Piastri, allowing him to start from the second row. While other drivers managed to find a few extra tenths between the two Q3 attempts, the Spaniard could only improve his time by ten thousandths, losing time in the exit of the castle section.
Up until that point, Carlos Sainz had been fully in the fight for pole, handling the sequence of 90-degree corners between the end of the first and the beginning of the second sector excellently. However, in the exit from that section, possibly due to better rear management over the course of the lap, his teammate found the margin to make the difference in the middle sector. The gap then widened again on the main straight, where Leclerc gained a few extra km/h, also helped by the slipstream offered by Carlos Sainz, who was a few seconds ahead of the Monegasque.
Carlos Sainz didn’t hide the fact that he has often struggled at this circuit throughout his career, which is why he’s ultimately satisfied with his third place on the grid: “Overall, we had a solid and quality day with both cars,” said the Spaniard after qualifying.
“I think we’ve put ourselves in a great position for tomorrow. I’ve never been super fast on this track in my career. It’s a track where I tend to struggle a bit, so being in third is something positive for tomorrow. Also, my race pace yesterday felt very good, so we can aim for something important tomorrow.” – he pointed out.
A crucial aspect was the track’s evolution, especially in the early sessions, which caught several drivers off guard, forcing even the top drivers to make extra laps at the end of Q1 to avoid elimination. Those who didn’t manage that crucial lap, like Lando Norris, found themselves eliminated.
The #55 is looking ahead to tomorrow, believing he can improve his position: “I think I found something in Q3 that could’ve helped me in Q1 or Q2, but I’m happy to start from third,” he said in a different interview for Sky Sport F1. “Yesterday, I was among the fastest in the long runs, and I’m confident things will go better in the race. If we do a good job tomorrow, we can aim to win with Charles or with me, and a one-two finish here would be important for the team and the constructors’ championship, where we’re close. Between the top eight, there are at most two tenths separating us, so a small change in balance could put us ahead of the others, and we hope it’s us. I’m confident we can do well tomorrow, and the number one goal is the one-two finish.”
“This third place is definitely nothing special, but it’s fair. I would’ve liked to be on the front row, but on this track, I’ve always struggled in the past. It’s one of those circuits where you’re not very fast from FP1 and then have to adapt: for Charles, it’s the complete opposite—he’s always very fast, and it comes naturally to him.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the 2024 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
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