Christian Horner described the "rollercoaster" of Red Bull's Azerbaijan Grand Prix success as Sergio Perez revealed he almost followed team-mate Max Verstappen out of the race.

Red Bull claimed consecutive wins for just the second time in the Hybrid Era, but it was Perez rather than Verstappen who led them to glory.

Verstappen was in complete control and set to head a Red Bull one-two when his left-rear tyre blew out in the closing stages. The same issue had ruled out Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.

That left the door open for title rival Lewis Hamilton to profit, but an error from the defending champion from the restart allowed Perez to race clear.

Red Bull boss Horner told Sky Sports: "I think I've aged about 20 years.

"We were staring down the barrel of our first one-two since 2016. Everything in control, we'd just checked in with Max, all okay, and then boom.

"The tyre went, and we don't know why. It looked like the wear was in good shape, so whether it's debris or something has happened.

"You can see it's a big place to have an accident. Thankfully, he's okay."

He added: "We were feeling at that point like the world had dropped from under us."

Worse might have been to come for Red Bull as Perez finished the race but then immediately broke down, receiving frantic messages over the radio as he celebrated his first victory for the team.

The Mexican, who has five consecutive top-five finishes for the first time in his career, said: "I'm so, so happy for today. Normally, Baku is pretty crazy.

"First of all, I have to say for Max I'm sorry. He did a tremendous race and really deserved the win, and it would have been incredible to get that one-two for the team.

"But at the end, it is a fantastic day for us. We were close to retiring the car but, luckily, we were able to finish the race. It was quite difficult all the way in the end."

Horner lauded Perez, whose victory moved Red Bull 26 points clear in the constructors' championship on a day Mercedes failed to score.

"He's a wily driver, a canny racer. He races really, really well," Horner said.

"We went from the despair of 'We've lost Max, we're going to lose the championship lead, Lewis could pass him at the restart and win the race'.

"It just shows the rollercoaster you go through in this sport.

"Suddenly it not being quite so bad, we've actually maintained the same lead in the drivers' championship leaving here and extended the constructors'."

Red Bull dedicated the victory to Mansour Ojjeh, the McLaren shareholder who passed away ahead of the race.

"He had the biggest heart and always carried the biggest smile," ex-McLaren man Hamilton posted on Twitter. "I am so grateful to have known such a man."

Remarkable late drama at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Sergio Perez handed victory after Max Verstappen crashed out and title rival Lewis Hamilton incredibly finished outside the points.

Verstappen looked to be coasting to a second consecutive Formula One win and seventh straight podium – both career firsts.

The Red Bull driver, four points ahead of Hamilton in the standings prior to the race, was well in the clear after earlier benefitting from a slow Hamilton pit stop.

But Verstappen's left-rear tyre blew out and ended his race, prompting the furious Dutchman to kick his car in anger.

Lance Stroll had encountered the same issue with the hard Pirelli tyres, swerving out of control when he had been fourth, albeit without pitting.

A red flag – requested by a concerned Red Bull team – followed Verstappen's crash with just three laps remaining, meaning a standing start with Perez ahead of Hamilton on the front row of the grid following the delay.

In another twist, Hamilton and his smoking brakes careered off the circuit from the restart and Perez raced away to lift Red Bull spirits.

With Hamilton way back in 15th, it meant a positive end to the day for Verstappen's team, even if the season leader will continue to rue his misfortune.

Both Verstappen and Perez jumped ahead of Hamilton when he was delayed in the pit lane by Pierre Gasly, having quickly caught pole-sitter Charles Leclerc.

Stroll's mishap threw a spanner in the works, yet Verstappen pulled ahead clear from the restart following the safety car, with Perez again getting the better of Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel's climb to fourth and attempt to reel in old foe Hamilton looked the most likely source of intrigue in the closing stages, only for Verstappen's blow to bring the race to a standstill.

Hamilton admitted his error when his restart sensationally failed, though, and Perez hung on, his car breaking down moments after crossing the line before Vettel – who achieved a first Aston Martin podium.

Marc Marquez did not finish a MotoGP race for the third straight time, a career first, as Miguel Oliveira triumphed at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez has not had the best of luck since returning from an injury that kept him out for the majority of 2020 and, after crashing in the Italian Grand Prix last week, the Spaniard suffered a similar fate on Sunday.

Marquez, aiming for a fifth consecutive podium finish in his home grand prix, spun out of control at turn 10, shortly after Danilo Petrucci and Pol Espargaro had crashed out, with Aleix Espargaro soon joining his younger sibling.

Aleix Espargaro, sixth at the time, fell foul of the same corner that did for Marquez, who desperately tried to right his bike but was swiftly ushered away by track emergency staff as he followed up retirements in France and Italy.

Turn 10 subsequently claimed another big name, Valentino Rossi, who managed his best finish of the season at the Italian Grand Prix (10th) but ended up skidding off the track here.

Yet up ahead, it was a demonstration of complete control from Oliveira (Red Bull KTM), who led for 23 laps in total after capitalising on a mistake from early front-runner Jack Miller.

The Australian had himself pounced on an error by championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who had claimed his fifth consecutive pole and was aiming for a career-first fourth win of a single season.

Yet despite fighting back to close the gap on Oliveira, Quartararo could not win in Barcelona as he did in 2020, and ultimately had to settle for fourth place, missing out on a third straight podium finish at the circuit.

Johann Zarco's daring overtake with three laps to go did the initial damage for Quartararo, who lost part of his protective leathers as he attempted to hold off Miller's challenge for third, but the Monster Energy Yamaha driver was handed a three second penalty.

It is Miller's first appearance on the Barcelona podium in seven attempts in MotoGP, while Zarco has surpassed his previous best tally of three top-three finishes in a single season.

Yet the day belonged to Oliveira, the Portuguese rider holding steady to clinch a third MotoGP race win.

TOP 10
1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM)
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.175
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) +1.990s
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +4.815s
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +5.325s
6. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +6.281s
7. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +8.175s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +8.378s
9. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +15.652s
10. Enea Bastianini (Reale Avintia Racing) +19.297s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 118
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 101
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) 90
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 88
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 76

Teams
1. Monster Energy Yamaha 192
2. Ducati 178
3. Pramac Racing 124
4. Suzuki Ecstar 99
5. Red Bull KTM 97

What's next?

The MotoGP schedule takes in Germany, with Chemnitz's Sachsenring hosting the German Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen would like to see team bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner don boxing gloves to settle their differences.

Hamilton and Verstappen are engaged in a title tussle in Formula One but have so far maintained pleasantries off the track in front of the media.

The same cannot be said for Mercedes chief Wolff and Red Bull counterpart Horner.

When Horner this week suggested his opposite number "keep [his] mouth shut" as the Silver Arrows struggled in practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Wolff fired back that the Red Bull boss was "a bit of a windbag who wants to be on camera".

For Hamilton, who qualified in second, and Verstappen, in third, the row was the source of some amusement in Baku on Saturday.

"We should get them in a ring," Hamilton offered.

Verstappen added: "Yeah, but I think the weight division is a bit of a problem. In the height, the reach...

"I mean I'm all for a ring anyway, even in Formula One – instead of penalties!"

Pressed for further comment, Verstappen said: "It's Formula One. There are a lot of stakes involved so everyone wants to win, everyone is competitive.

"I guess it's just a natural thing and it's good for people to read, right? A bit of fire behind it."

Hamilton said: "Naturally, they're the two top leaders of the teams and they've both contributed hugely to the success of both teams.

"[They are] great leaders and of course they're head to head because we are head to head in this tight battle. We generally just like to do our talking on the track, so we're just keeping our heads down."

Hamilton did just that in qualifying, although he had not anticipated such a competitive display.

The defending champion was seventh in FP1, 11th in FP2 and "still pretty much a disaster" in third in FP3.

However, Hamilton was only denied a 101st career pole by Charles Leclerc, who again profited from a late red flag – this time caused by an incident involving team-mate Carlos Sainz, having himself crashed last time out.

"Honestly, it's one of the greatest feelings for us, for the difficult experience we've gone through and being out of the top 10 all weekend and really struggling to understand and extract performance from our car," Hamilton said.

"It feels fantastic. Congratulations to Charles, who did a fantastic job given the difficult circumstances out there.

"Yeah, it's just a bit overwhelming, really happy to be up here, grateful to have got the lap in, and it puts us in for a much different race than we anticipated after yesterday."

Verstappen was less impressed by how qualifying panned out, bemoaning "all this s*** all the time happening" when the session was cut short.

With Red Bull concurrently leading both the drivers' championship and the constructors' championship for the first time since 2013, Verstappen is looking for the first back-to-back wins of his career.

Not since the Hybrid Era began in 2014 have his team had two victories in a row.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris, a distant third in the standings, will start from P9 due to a three-place grid penalty.

Norris, who has earned points at a career-best 10 consecutive races, qualified in sixth but was deemed to have continued on the track under one of the session's record-equalling four red flags.

Fabio Quartararo claimed his fifth consecutive pole position on Saturday and revealed he is preferring qualifying sessions to races right now, even as he leads the MotoGP world championship.

Having won three of the first six events this season – including the Italian Grand Prix last time out – Quartararo is 24 points clear at the top of the standings. He has never won more than three races in a campaign in the top category.

But the Monster Energy Yamaha sensation is arguably reserving his best displays for Saturdays.

After another outstanding performance in qualifying at the Catalunya Grand Prix, Quartararo will again line up on the front row.

This career-best run of poles means the Frenchman becomes the 15th rider to reach 15 in the premier class and he is well placed to repeat his impressive past race performances in Barcelona.

Quartararo's first ever podium came at the event in 2019, while he won in 2020.

Yet even another victory might not be as enjoyable as the qualifying session in which he bettered Jack Miller with a time of a minute and 38.853 seconds. He had remarkably already lapped in under 1:40 seven times in FP4.

"Qualifying is the best thing to do on a race weekend," he said. "I enjoy it much more than the race because you push yourself to the limit."

Quartararo even felt he could have performed better as he took pole, although his level of performance on both medium and hard tyres means there is a decision still to make on Sunday.

Jorge Lorenzo, in 2012 and 2013, was the last man to celebrate back-to-back Catalunya GP wins.

"The pace was great, medium and hard," Quartararo said. "The qualifying was great and I did a great first run. But actually, my lap was not that perfect.

"I thought I could improve a little bit more and on my second run I prepared really well the rear tyre, but I went on the yellow flag in sector three.

"But the most important thing is we're on the front row, P1. I'm so happy to see the fans back and I think it's giving a boost for everyone."

The previous rider to have five successive poles was Marc Marquez, with seven across 2013 and 2014.

But the six-time MotoGP champion failed to even make Q2 on Saturday and explained that a circuit where he has four podiums in a row is not suited to his Repsol Honda.

"Our weak point is the traction, and at this circuit, if you don't have the traction, it's impossible to be fast," said Marquez, who is aiming to avoid three straight retirements for the first time in his top category career.

"At the other circuits, you can brake later, stop, go, pick up. But here, at Turn 2, Turn 3, Turn 4, if you don't have the grip, it's impossible.

"Even in '19, when I was in a sweet moment, I was struggling here. Okay, you can say, 'You win the race', but I won the race because there was a strike in Turn 10. If not, I wasn't able to win the race.

"But anyway, let's see if tomorrow we can finish the race and continue this calendar."


Provisional classification

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:38.853
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.037s
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.196s
4. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.246s
5. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +0.256s
6. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.304s
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.365s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +0.490s
9. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.506s
10. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.578s
11. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +0.752s
12. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +2.938s

Charles Leclerc joked "it was quite a s*** lap" after he clinched pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen.

In a qualifying session littered with crashes on Saturday, it was Ferrari's Leclerc who came out on top, recording a time of one minute and 41.218 seconds.

The frantic session on the streets of Baku saw four red flags raised, equalling the record for the most in qualifying, which was set ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2016.

Indeed, it was the fourth red flag which all but sealed Leclerc's pole, his second in a row after he started at the front of the grid in Monaco last time out – he is the first driver to take back-to-back poles this season.

World champion Hamilton struggled in practice, but was second when Yuki Tsunoda's crash into the barriers ended qualifying and came in a tenth of a second quicker than Verstappen, who had crashed out in the final practice session.

Leclerc was not best pleased with his efforts, but had no qualms about securing pole.

"It was quite a s*** lap I thought!" Leclerc, who set his fastest time with the help of a slipstream from Hamilton, joked to Sky Sports.

"There were like two or three corners where I did mistakes, but of course I had the big tow from Lewis in the last sector which helped me a little bit.

"But overall I think we would have been there or thereabouts for pole without the slipstream, so it's a good day. I did not expect to be as competitive as we were today. I was improving again [before] the red flag but it's like this, another pole, and I'm happy anyway."

Meanwhile, Hamilton was left to reflect on what he labelled a "monumental" result for Mercedes, with the team having struggled throughout the week – indeed, Valtteri Bottas will start in 10th on Sunday.

"We definitely weren't expecting that and this is such a monumental result for us because we've been struggling like you couldn't believe all weekend. You can see it," Hamilton said.

"We kept our composure. We've continued to have difficult discussions in the background and challenging one another, and just never taking no for an answer. We've moved around, made so many changes, over these two days. Just chasing our tail and it's been so difficult.

"It has been the biggest challenge in a long time. It has been a bit of a disaster."

Verstappen won in Monaco, with Red Bull aiming for consecutive race victories for the first time since 2014, but the young Dutchman could not hide his frustration with how the session panned out.

"It was just a stupid qualifying to be honest, but it is what it is," he said. "It's a street circuit so these things can happen, our car is strong so hopefully tomorrow we can score good points."

Pierre Gasly was in fine form during practice and took the momentum into qualifying, clinching fourth on the grid, while Carlos Sainz completed an impressive showing from Ferrari by coming in fifth.

The day ultimately belonged to Leclerc, who will be hoping for better luck than he had in Monaco, when a mechanical issue meant he could not build on his pole position and had to drop out of the race.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:41.218
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.232s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.345s
4. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.347s
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.358s
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.529s
7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.699s
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +0.993s
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.109s
10. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +1.441s

The Singapore Grand Prix is cancelled and "several options" for alternative races are being considered, Formula One organisers have confirmed.

The race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit was originally scheduled for October 1-3 this year.

However, the event has been called off amid concerns from authorities that Singapore's strict coronavirus control measures would not be compatible with thousands entering the country for the weekend.

A statement from F1 on Friday said: "Formula One and race organisers have confirmed that this year's Singapore Grand Prix will not take place, with organisers citing ongoing safety and logistic concerns brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"As previously stated, Formula One say they will continue to work with all promoters during this fluid time and have several options for additional races."

Colin Syn, deputy chairman of the race, was quoted by the BBC as saying that cancelling the Singapore event for the second year running was "an incredibly difficult decision" but necessary due to "the prevailing restrictions for live events in Singapore".

The city state has tough measures in place to limit travel from abroad, while a robust test-and-trace system has helped to keep COVID-19 cases to just over 62,000.

According to reports, Turkey is being considered as an alternative venue. Istanbul Park was due to be used as a substitute for the Canadian Grand Prix but was cancelled after a rise in coronavirus cases.

A revival of the postponed Chinese Grand Prix and a possible second race in Austin, Texas have also been mooted.

Fabio Quartararo acknowledged his win at Sunday's Italian Grand Prix did not leave him with a "great feeling" following the death of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier.

Swiss rider Dupasquier, 19, was struck by another bike after falling and slid along the track at Mugello in qualifying on Saturday. 

It was announced before Sunday's MotoGP race that he had died in hospital from his injuries. 

Quartararo became the first rider to win in Mugello after starting from pole position since 2014, extending his lead over Johann Zarco at the top of the championship standings to 24 points with five races completed. 

Quartararo was in no mood to celebrate, though, the 22-year-old revealing he thought about Dupasquier every time he went past the part of the course where the fatal incident happened. 

"Strange, strange day," Quartararo told reporters. "Honestly, there were a lot of emotions before starting the race.

"I get emotional really fast in every condition, so to start the race during that one minute of silence was really difficult and every time I crossed turn nine, I was thinking about Jason.

"This one is for him. It's not a great feeling. You achieve a win, but we lose one of our friends. So, it's not easy."

Meanwhile, Marc Marquez's hopes of securing a strong result in his fourth race since returning from a broken arm were ended at turn three on the second lap when he made contact with Brad Binder.

Marquez accepted responsbility for his early exit and said he is looking forward to getting his season back on track at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit next weekend.

"If someone is to blame it is me because he was coming from behind," he told DAZN. "I tried to overtake him on turn two. Several riders from the lane have fallen in that chicane.

"I was going to one side and he was coming to the other and he closed in front of me. Fortunately, I fell by myself.

"We have taken a little step this weekend. We have understood several things and we are lucky that next week we will be running again. I have not completed 23 laps at Mugello and I want to see if I can continue with my progression."

Marc Marquez crashed out on the second lap as championship leader Fabio Quartararo claimed a third MotoGP victory of the season at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. 

In a race overshadowed by the death of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier after a crash in qualifying on Saturday, Quartararo became the first rider to win in Mugello after starting from pole position since 2014. 

Meanwhile, Marquez's hopes of securing a strong result in his fourth race since returning from a broken arm were ended at turn three on the second lap when he made contact with Brad Binder.

Quartararo started from his fourth consecutive pole, but he was usurped by Francesco Bagnaia almost immediately. 

Ducati rider Bagnaia fell from the front on just the second lap, though, handing the advantage back to Quartararo, who fought off the threat of fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco to seal a third win in six races.

This latest victory extended his lead at the head of the standings to 24 points over Zarco, who was leapfrogged by Miguel Oliveria into second with eight laps remaining, with Joan Mir pushing him off the podium soon after. 

Alex Rins pushed Zarco further down the standings, but he was denied a push at a podium place when he crashed on the final corner. 

Oliveira beat Mir to the line for second, although the Portuguese rider was initially demoted to third for exceeding track limits on the final lap. It later transpired Mir had also committed the same offence and they were returned to their original positions. 

TOP 10
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha)
2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +2.592s
3. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +3.000s
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) +3.535s
5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +4.903s
6. Jack Miller (Ducati Team) +6.233s
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Gresini) +8.030s
8. Maverick Vinales (Monster Yamaha) +17.239s
9. Danilo Petrucci (KTM Tech3) +23.296s
10. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +25.146s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 105
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 81
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenevo) 79
4. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenevo) 74
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 65

Teams

1. Monster Energy Yamaha 169
2. Ducati 153
3. Pramac Racing 102
4. Suzuki Ecstar 88
5. KTM Factory Racing 64

What's next?

The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit plays host to the next race in the championship next weekend, with Quartararo looking for a repeat performance of his win there last year. 

Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier has died following a crash in qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday. 

Swiss rider Dupasquier, 19, was struck by another bike after falling and slid along the track at Mugello. 

After lengthy treatment by medics on the track he was airlifted to Careggi Hospital in Florence.

It was announced on Sunday he had died from his injuries. 

A statement on the MotoGP website read: "Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those subsequently attending to the Swiss rider, the hospital has announced that Dupasquier has sadly succumbed to his injuries.

"The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna Sports pass on our deepest condolences to Dupasquier's family, friends, team and loved ones."

Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Dupasquier was 10th in the World Championship standings after collecting 27 points from the opening five races of his second season in the competition. 

His team Prustel GP wrote on Instagram: "We're devastated and at this time all of our thoughts are with Jason's family

"You'll be sorely missed and never forgotten, Jason."

Marc Marquez apologised to Maverick Vinales for his persistent towing at the Italian Grand Prix as Fabio Quartararo secured a fourth consecutive pole position in style. 

Vinales was visibly frustrated after Marquez followed him out of the pits for the final Q1 run and stuck with him when he abandoned his out-lap. 

After moving ahead of Vinales in the pit lane Marquez then dropped back in behind him for their flying lap knowing the Monster Yahama rider could not pull in again. 

It worked perfectly for Marquez, who pulled to the top of the timesheets ahead of Vinales with only a lap to go.

Vinales, meanwhile, was pushed down to third by Aleix Espargaro, leaving him 13th on the grid and out of Q2.

Marquez, who will start Sunday's Grand Prix from 11th, apologised to Vinales but insisted what he did was in the rules. 

"We checked the list, the fastest guy was Vinales, so we chose him because he was the fastest guy [not to get into Q2 directly], but if it was another one [faster] we would choose another one," the six-time world champion said. 

"And then just I followed him, it was the tactic because it was the only way to improve.

"I would like to be in another level and another position to push in front and have the others follow me, like many times in the past. But I'm not like this.

"But I know, because I had that feeling in the past, how Maverick can feel. For that reason, I saw Vinales after the session and we spoke about it and I apologised.

"But in the end, it's inside the rules. In the limit but inside the rules, and what I did was try to find the perfect situation to do my 100 per cent and to take the best result possible."

Vinales' team-mate Quartararo, meanwhile, was in supreme form, sealing another pole position courtesy of a new lap record of one minute and 45.187 seconds. 

Quartararo became the first Yamaha rider to secure pole at Mugello in the premier class since Valentino Rossi, and the 22-year-old hailed his record lap as the best of his life. 

"This was probably the best lap I have ever done in my life," he said. "This is the type of track where you can really feel the adrenaline. I was on the limit everywhere. In the first sector, I was moving all the time, but I just said 'I'm going to send it'. 

"I really wanted to do the fastest lap today, and it worked. I'm actually really looking forward to seeing the onboard lap, because for sure it will look amazing.

"Today was a good day. I really wanted this pole position, because I know it's important for us for the race. I enjoyed that lap."

Provisional classification

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:45.187
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Team) +0.230s
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) +0.245s
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Gresini) +0.351s
5. Jack Miller (Ducati Team) +0.411s
6. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +0.556s
7. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.558s
8. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.809s
9. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.889s
10. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +0.897s
11. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.938s
12. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +1.206s

Ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley has died at the age of 81 after a battle with cancer.

President of motorsport's ruling body the FIA from 1993 to 2009, Mosley was responsible for safety reforms in the wake of Ayrton Senna's death in 1994.

He also set up the FIA Foundation to support road safety and sustainable transport programmes in more than 100 countries.

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told the BBC that Mosley's death was "like losing a brother", adding: "He did, a lot of good things not just for motorsport, also the [car] industry. He was very good in making sure people built cars that were safe."

FIA president Jean Todt tweeted to say he was "deeply saddened", while the governing body described him as "a road safety pioneer, leader and donor".

Mosley also campaigned for stronger press regulation after he was awarded damages for an article published by The News of the World in 2008 detailing allegations around his private life.

Damon Hill, who won the F1 driver's championship in 1996, said on Twitter: "There will be much spoken in the next few months and years about this complicated and controversial man.

"But for now, may God rest his soul and condolences to his family."

Charles Leclerc found it "very difficult to feel okay" after his latest failed attempt to finish a Monaco Grand Prix, in which he was unable even to take his place on the grid.

Leclerc had qualified fastest on Saturday but crashed in the process, giving the Ferrari mechanics work to do to get his car in shape to start from pole position.

The Scuderia announced three hours before the race they would not have to replace the gearbox, ensuring Leclerc would not face a grid penalty.

However, the 23-year-old quickly ran into trouble driving the car ahead of the start, as Ferrari identified "an issue with the left driveshaft" that meant he had to be withdrawn around 20 minutes prior to the grand prix.

The Monegasque was making his third Formula One appearance at Monaco having retired from the prior two.

But for this mishap, Leclerc might have produced the best result of a home driver in the principality, a feat that still belongs Louis Chiron, who came third at the first ever F1 Monaco GP in 1950.

"In the garage, it was very, very difficult to feel okay," Leclerc told Sky Sports.

"I guess now I'm getting used to this feeling here, unfortunately. I've never finished a race here. This year I don't start it starting from pole.

"It's a difficult one to take, but I also feel for the team, to be honest. The mechanics have done such a hard job yesterday to try to check everything.

"The mechanics were finally a bit happy this morning to see that everything seems fine and all the parts were fine, and then this happens. It's a shame for everyone."

Max Verstappen, who started from second but had a clear run with Leclerc's position vacant, won at Monaco for the first time, finishing ahead of Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari car.

Sainz delivered Ferrari's 54th Monaco podium, extending their record haul.

Lewis Hamilton is not confident Mercedes will quickly bounce back from a difficult day at the Monaco Grand Prix where he lost the lead in the drivers' standings.

The defending Formula One champion had a 14-point advantage over second-placed Max Verstappen heading into Sunday's race.

But Hamilton, who had to settle for seventh in qualifying, was never in contention as Verstappen triumphed to move four points clear.

The Briton might still have limited the damage, but Mercedes endured a particularly tough time in the pit lane.

Sebastian Vettel stole ahead of Hamilton and Pierre Gasly when the three pitted, pushing the Silver Arrows superstar down the field, while team-mate Valtteri Bottas had to retire from second when mechanics failed to remove his front-right wheel.

"We do all our discussions in the background. We'll work together and try to come out of this stronger," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

"We underperformed as a team all weekend, from the get-go. We'll just put our focus onto the next race, and congratulations to Max and his team. They did a great job."

Although Hamilton is keen to look ahead to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he does not expect the trip to Baku to see Mercedes' fortunes change significantly for the better.

"I would be guessing, but it's another street circuit, another one that's really cold, a very smooth circuit," he said.

"It's another one that we could easily struggle at again – similar to here. We're just going to have to try to work and see how we can minimise that loss."

This is the first time in Verstappen's career he has led the championship, but he agrees Mercedes are better suited to "normal tracks" and so is not getting carried away.

"If it [his name] is there at the end of the season, that would be great," Verstappen told a news conference. "There's still a long way to go.

"Of course it's great to bounce back after the last two races, where of course the gap got bigger. We still have to work hard because we know Mercedes, on normal tracks, are still the ones to beat."

Verstappen had never previously had a podium at Monaco – "I've always been quick around Monaco, I've just shunted a few too many times," he argued – but says this improved display is not reason to be overly optimistic in Baku.

"Baku is a completely different circuit," he said, adding: "You can't really compare with each other, but normally we should be competitive."