Leclerc beats Piastri and takes pole, Norris is eliminated in Q1

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Lando Norris only finished 17th after a botched Q1 run.

A dominant Leclerc beat McLaren's Oscar Piastri by three tenths. Both of his Q3 laps were enough for pole, allowing the Monegasque to extend his pole streak in Baku. Piastri, on the other hand, managed to keep the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz at bay.

Sergio Perez confirmed his strong form from the weekend in Baku by qualifying better than teammate Max Verstappen for the first time this year. Perez finished fourth, while Mercedes driver George Russell shared the Red Bulls in fifth place ahead of the Dutchman.

Lewis Hamilton finished seventh ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, while rookie Franco Colapinto shone in his second appearance with Williams, starting Q3 in sixth place and then overtaking teammate Albon in qualifying to finish ninth.

Albon was strangely sent out for his final run with an airbox fan still attached to the car, but after asking marshals in vain for help exiting the pit lane, he managed to remove the device himself.

Albon still managed to complete a lap, although he may have neglected to warm up his tyres and therefore ended up behind Colapinto.

McLaren's title contender Norris, who is looking to further reduce his 62-point deficit to championship leader Max Verstappen, suffered a major setback when he was eliminated in Q1.

Due to the dramatic track development on the low-grip Baku street circuit, most of the front-runners needed a third, faultless run on soft tyres to secure a place in Q2.

But Norris, who had been relegated to the relegation zone, made a mistake on his final lap and slid over the high kerbs of Turn 16. His lap was then ruined for good when Esteban Ocon crossed the finish line in his Alpine with a puncture – which the team mistook for a yellow flag.

Norris slacked off and had to pit instead, as his previous best performance had only been enough for 17th place on the grid.

Norris will start behind RB's Daniel Ricciardo, with Sauber duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in 18th and 19th place and Ocon finishing last after hitting the wall. Ocon was already on the defensive after missing the first practice session due to a hybrid engine problem and being stuck in the second session due to a fuel system issue.

In Q2, Haas rookie Oliver Bearman missed out on a place in Q3 by a tenth after regretting a small mistake. But the Briton fought back impressively after a crash in FP3 and outperformed his experienced teammate Nico Hülkenberg in qualifying.

Bearman starts eleventh ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Gasly of RB, followed by Hülkenberg and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll.