Baku: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to take his third consecutive pole position this season. German, Vettel who is nine points clear of Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, was just 0.179 seconds clear of his rival around the demanding Baku street circuit.
Kimi Raikkonen was on course to snatch pole from his teammate only to make a mistake at the final corner of his lap. The Finn ended sixth, behind Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and the Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
Vettel did all his work on his first run of the top 10 shootout, when he was 0.342 seconds quicker than Hamilton. The World Champion closed up on his final lap but it was not enough.
Ferrari have won twice already this season, with Red Bull taking victory at the last race in China. Mercedes are yet to win.
The circuit here is one of the narrowest and fastest on the F1 calendar, and there was a dramatic escape for the Toro Rosso drivers, when a misunderstanding led to Pierre Gasly almost running into the back of teammate Brendon Hartley on the 180mph run through the kinks before Turn 15.
Force India drivers were best of the rest, Esteban Ocon edging Sergio Perez by 0.024 seconds and more than 0.5 seconds quicker than Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.
In spite of starting second on the grid, Hamilton, who has not won a race since the US Grand Prix last October, said: “That was close. We did the best job we could. They (Ferrari) have been quick all weekend. We are in the mix. This is the fifth best track to overtake and I am going to try to give Sebastian a hard time tomorrow (Sunday).
Vettel stated that he is expecting a tough fight from the Merc drivers. “It will be an intense race. Anything can happen. Safety cars are likely. The important thing is the car is in a good place,” Vettel stated.
Agencies
