F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Results: Verstappen struggles AGAIN as title rival stunned

Charles Leclerc achieved a stunning pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Max Verstappen struggled against his rivals.

The champion only managed to qualify P6, with his team-mate Sergio Perez emerging ahead in P4.

READ MORE: Ricciardo discusses Red Bull alternatives in bid to secure F1 future

Lando Norris made a shock Q1 exit in a blow to his championship chances, with the McLaren star running wide at Turn 16 and aborting his lap.

Williams demonstrated impressive pace with both Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto making the top ten.

However, the team made a major mistake by leaving an bright yellow airbox in Albon's car as the team looked set to produce their best qualifying result of the year.

On the other hand, both Haas drivers were knocked out in Q2, and Ollie Bearman failed to make the top ten during his qualifying debut with Haas.

Daniel Ricciardo also made an early F1 exit, a less than ideal result as the Aussie's F1 future remains precarious.

Here are the results from qualifying in Baku.

F1 Qualifying Results: Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024

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]

ELIMINATED IN Q2

11. Ollie Bearman [Haas]
12. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]
13. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
14. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
15. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

ELIMINATED IN Q1

16. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]
17. Lando Norris [McLaren]
18. Valtteri Bottas [Sauber]
19. Zhou Guanyu [Sauber]
20. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

How does F1 Qualifying work?

The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Sunday's race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.

Then, Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

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