Chares Leclerc took pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on an eventful first outing for Formula One’s new weekend format. The Ferrari man took the honour ahead of Sunday’s 51-lap race by pipping world champion and championship leader Max Verstappen by 0.188sec. ‘Job done, thanks for everything, the car was really good,’ said Leclerc. The day’s results have no bearing on Sunday’s grid, under the new schedule. They will have a strong race car on Sunday, no doubt, so perhaps remain favourites for the grand prix victory itself. The barrier took an age to be repaired – 17 minutes to be exact.

Follow MotorMouth on social media:

• 
• 
• 
•