- supercars.com.gh
- September 14, 2024
The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is almost at our doorstep, and today we found out what the starting grid would be like for this all-important race. Stick around to find out who came out on top and who fumbled around the streets of Baku, and don’t forget to stay tuned to Supercars.com.GH for our unparalleled coverage of the exhilarating 2024 Formula 1 season.
The third free practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicked off with a damp track and a flurry of red flags. Despite the challenging conditions, George Russell managed to secure the top spot for Mercedes at the end, edging out Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Lando Norris of McLaren. The session was marred by a number of incidents, including crashes for Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman who was standing in for Kevin Magnussen after the latter was handed a race ban, resulting in red flags being brought out which interrupted the session.
Despite the setbacks, several drivers managed to set impressive lap times which gave us something to look forward to ahead of qualifying. Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto briefly held the top two positions for Williams, before being overtaken by Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg. Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz also made their presence known, finishing within the top five. The session ended with Russell securing the fastest lap time, followed home closely by Leclerc and Norris
- George Russel Mercedes 1:42.514
- Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:42.527
- Lando Norris McLaren 1:42.737
Qualifying did not go as expected for Lando Norris, who was eliminated from Q1 in 17th place, which is a major setback for both the driver and the team which came after a weekend of speculation about potential team orders in favor of Norris over Oscar Piastri. The team had taken a risky decision not to use new tires for Norris’s first run in Q1, which left him vulnerable as lap times improved. A yellow flag forced Norris to abort his final lap, sealing his fate and eliminating him from the session.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc dominated qualifying, securing pole position for Ferrari with a dominant lap time for the fourth year in a row. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, qualified in third, while Oscar Piastri claimed second place for McLaren. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez rounded out the top five for Red Bull. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton qualified in fifth and seventh for Mercedes, respectively.
Despite Norris’s disappointing result, other drivers had positive qualifying sessions. Oliver Bearman impressed, securing 11th place for Haas. Alex Albon, however, faced bad luck when his Williams was sent out with a cooling fan still attached. He managed to remove the fan and continue but ran out of time to start a final lap and finished in 10th.
- Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.365
- Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:41.686
- Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:41.805
With both Norris and Verstappen noticeably away from their usual starting places we have become accustomed to throughout the season, tomorrow’s race is sure to be an exciting one. Make sure to check in tomorrow for our complete review of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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