Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole-sitter for the fourth year in a row after a stunning showing on the streets of Baku.
Leclerc, who emerged victorious in Monza last time out, is in a good position to close the gap to both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.
Norris will need an unlikely turn of events to close his 62-point gap to the Dutchman as he encountered yellow flags on his final lap in the first session and will start Sunday's race in 17th.
Verstappen, meanwhile, will start in sixth after being outqualified by team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished fourth, with Mercedes' George Russell sandwiched in between.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso came next, with Williams producing an excellent display with drives from Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon to complete the top 10.
Leclerc's performance saw him record the best pole streak for a Ferrari driver in a Grand Prix since Michael Schumacher in Spain from 2000 to 2004 (five).
Speaking after qualifying, the Monegasque was confident about his chances of becoming the first driver since Felipe Massa to achieve consecutive victories on at least two occasions.
“It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season, I really like it, it hasn’t been an easy weekend because of the crash in FP1," Leclerc said.
"It didn’t make me lose confidence as I knew that the pace was there, but you’ve got to be back up to speed.
“In Q3 and qualifying it was all about trying to stay as far as possible from the walls and on the last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely.
“The car felt really good and everything felt great, so it’s amazing to be on pole."
Norris was on course to make it through into the second session comfortably but a yellow flag as he approached the final straight saw his flying lap ruined.
“The lap was easily good enough, but there was a yellow flag so I had to back off," Norris said.
“Following is pretty much impossible around here and overtaking is a lot worse than everyone thinks.
“I am not expecting much from 17th, but we will put in a good plan tonight and do our best of course.
"I have been wrong, and I hope there are plenty of chances, but I’m not expecting so.”
But when asked, McLaren team-mate Piastri was confident that the team have the pace to score some big points in the race for the constructors' championship.
"I think from where we are starting, yes," Piastri said.
But following around here is really tough, we saw yesterday, it was pretty tough once you get behind someone, hopefully get some clean air, which will be good.
"We'll see what we can do. I think our race pace is good, but again, the Ferraris are certainly not slow.
Qualifying results
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
10. Alex Albon (Williams)
Ricciardo to leave RB with Lawson named as replacement
Daniel Ricciardo will leave RB with Liam Lawson replacing him for the remainder of the Formula One season.
Speculation surrounding Ricciardo's future has been confirmed as the Australian's second F1 stint was brought to an end after he lost his seat at RB.
Ricciardo is 14th in the drivers' championship standings, while he recorded the fastest lap during last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix - the 258th and final race of his F1 career.
The 35-year-old has chalked up eight wins and 32 podiums along the way, notably finishing third in the drivers' championship in 2014 and 2016.
Lawson, who deputised for the injured Ricciardo in five races last season, will step up from his reserve role to partner Yuki Tsunoda for the final six races of the 2024 campaign, starting at next month's United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The 22-year-old recorded an impressive ninth-place finish in Singapore during his short stint, and RB boss Laurent Mekies feels it will be "a natural transition" for him.
"Everyone would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us," Mekies said.
"He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.
"Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track, and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.
"I'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it'll be a natural transition.
"It's great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We're looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together."
Norris: Overhauling Verstappen for F1 championship 'definitely possible'
Lando Norris believes overhauling Max Verstappen to win the Formula One driver's championship is "definitely possible", though he knows McLaren have no room for error.
Norris produced a magnificent performance at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, leading from the front and finishing some 20 seconds clear of Verstappen.
That victory – his third of the year – lifted him to within 52 points of Verstappen at the top of the drivers' standings, while McLaren lead Red Bull by 41 points in the battle for the constructors' crown.
Norris has now won from pole in two of the last four races (Singapore and the Netherlands), becoming the 49th driver to achieve that feat on at least two occasions in F1.
In the last 30 grands prix in which Norris has scored points, he has averaged 15.3 points (460 in total), having only averaged 6.8 across his previous 66 (452 in total).
With Verstappen now winless in eight races, Norris does not see ending his three-year reign as an impossible objective, if McLaren can maintain their pace.
"This is what I've got to do, this is what I need, this is what we need to do as a team," Norris told Sky Sports F1.
"We've executed things perfectly as a team, especially to get Oscar [Piastri] into P3, but we need to do it at every race until the end of the year if I want to have a chance to get Max.
"We're working hard and if I keep doing what I've done this weekend, then it's definitely possible."
Verstappen won 19 of 22 races in the 2023 season – the most dominant campaign ever witnessed in F1 – but Norris hopes he can take this year's title battle to the final race, set for Abu Dhabi on December 8.
"I hope so. I still have a lot of points I've got to catch up and it's not going to be easy to do it," Norris added.
"It's against Red Bull and it's against Max, the most dominant pairing you've ever seen in Formula One, from last year.
"That's not necessarily changed in terms of… It's the same team and it's the same driver. So, I have some of the toughest competition that Formula One has ever seen.
"I'm working my heart out, I'm working my butt off, to try and make sure that happens. He's trying to make sure it doesn't happen. So we'll have to wait and find out."
Red Bull would be 'foolish' not to target Russell, says Horner
Red Bull would be "foolish" not to consider an approach for George Russell when his Mercedes contract expires next year, says team principal Christian Horner.
While three-time world champion Max Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, the poor form of team-mate Sergio Perez has cast doubt on their lineup.
Perez started 2024 with four podium finishes in his first five races, but he has since endured a run of 13 outings without a top-three finish to slip to eighth in the drivers' championship.
Russell is set to become Mercedes' lead driver for 2025 when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, but with the Silver Arrows' team principal Toto Wolff repeatedly talking up the possibility of moving for Verstappen, his long-term future is in doubt.
With Russell's contract expiring after next season, Horner says Red Bull could swoop for him to fill a "gap" between their current drivers and those coming through their academy.
"We've got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future," Horner told Sky Sports F1.
"And we're not afraid to go out of the pool. You know, George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.
"There are other talented drivers that could well be out of contract as well."
Russell claimed his second F1 race win in Austria earlier this year and currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings, 11 points ahead of Perez.
Horner's comments on Russell were put to Mercedes boss Wolff, who accused his counterpart of "stirring".
"He is always stirring s*** up on his part," Wolff said. "It's part of the game.
"George is a Mercedes driver, has been forever and hopefully will be forever. He has a long contract with the team."
The Silver Arrows endured a frustrating outing at last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton finishing fourth and Russell sixth after early difficulties with the team's split strategy.
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