Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix 2018 Qualifying: Saturday's Results, Times, Final Grid
April 28, 2018
Sebastian Vettel took pole for the third race running when he topped qualifying in the 2018 Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Ferrari driver set a time of one minute, 41.498 seconds in Baku to put himself ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Here's a look at the classification, courtesy of F1's official Twitter account:
Vettel on Pole Again as Force India Shine
After a disappointing day on Friday, Vettel showed intent on Saturday as he topped FP3 before doing the same in qualifying.
He's eagerly awaiting Sunday's race:
His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was quickest through Q1 and Q2 and was on course to do the same in Q3 with a flying late run, but an error at Turn 16 proved costly, and he ended up in sixth behind his team-mate, the two Mercedes and Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
Force India will be delighted with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Alonso out in Q2 Again
As in the Chinese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso failed to make it to the final 10 in qualifying and went out in Q2.
The Spaniard finished P13 in Q1 having set a 1:44.010 late on to scrape through, but he was unable to improve on that time or position in the second qualifying run.
As the Press Association's Phil Duncan noted, it marked a disappointing session for McLaren:
The team have not had a representative in Q3 at any point so far this season.
Car Troubles Prove Costly for Romain Grosjean
Romain Grosjean managed to complete 12 laps in FP3, but he lasted just four minutes in Q1.
A lock-up at Turn 3 saw him use an escape road, but the Haas driver damaged his car in the process:
The Frenchman was unable to record a time before the premature end to his qualifying run, so he'll start Sunday's race at the back of the grid.
Toro Rosso duo Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley also didn't make it as they almost collided with one another:
The latter was affected by a puncture, and the incident prevented his team-mate from making Q2.