Photo credits: Formula One
Liam Lawson grabs his first ever front-row starting position, after a chaotic red-flag filled qualifying session in Baku.
A remarkable qualifying session in Azerbaijan, which saw six red flags throughout the session and a disqualification, had a mix of names in the top ten. After 96 minutes, Max Verstappen secured pole position, ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Racing Bulls Lawson.
Four red flags spread out between Q1 and Q2, gave the Racing Bulls driver the opportunity to place his car within the top 10. In the early minutes of Q3 Lawson set a time placing himself into the top three, before Charles Leclerc lost it and hit the barriers bringing out the fifth red flag.
With the delay, rain began hitting the circuit, providing another surprise to the chaotic and unpredictable session. After the Ferrari was recovered, cars headed back on track but the drivers were struggling with grip, subsequently, Oscar Piastri slid off track and hit the barriers.
This opened up another opportunity for Lawson, with the 3m 41s remaining only guaranteeing the drivers a singular shot at improving their times.
With seconds on the clock, and no driver threatening the New Zealander, Lawson remained in his position and secured his highest starting position in Formula 1.
“Honestly I can’t even remember what happened, it was so busy,” Lawson expressed after the session.
“I didn’t expect it to be like that, honestly. The car has been good all weekend and when it needed to be in Quali, it was good so a massive thanks to the guys and girls.
“The team’s been amazing this weekend so far, but obviously tomorrow is the important day.
“It’s always sketchy because you see the rain coming on your visor and you can feel it, and you can kind of see the gloss on the track, but because the tyres are still warm you have grip.”
“You’re trying to fight your brain and not back off and keep pushing. It’s definitely tricky.” He added.
“It’s going to be a very hard race. We have a great starting position but obviously we’re aware of who we’re fighting around us, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Championship leader Piastri starts in ninth, just two positions behind Lando Norris. With a dull skies forecast for the race, who will come out on top and secure the Azerbaijan trophy?