Leclerc claimed both pole positions on offer at the Baku round, topping Friday qualifying and Saturday’s new sprint race qualifying session, but he couldn’t convert the latter into victory as he was reeled in by Sergio Perez in the sprint.
But the Ferrari driver did hold on for second place ahead of Max Verstappen, who clashed with George Russell on the opening lap of the sprint, which resulted in sidepod damage and the pair exchanged heated views immediately after the race.
Russell, who claimed fourth in the sprint, fended off Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, as Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll rounded out the points-paying places in the sprint race.
Logan Sargeant missed the sprint race due a crash in Saturday’s sprint qualifying, while Yuki Tsunoda didn’t finish the sprint due to damage sustained on the opening lap.
But, with the new sprint race schedule creating Saturday’s action as standalone events, the grand prix starting grid has been decided by Friday’s qualifying, which resulted in Leclerc taking pole ahead of Verstappen and Perez.
Date: Sunday 30 April 2023
Start time: 12:00pm BST, 3:00pm local time
The fourth round of the 2023 F1 season, the Azerbaijan GP at the Baku City Circuit, gets underway at 3:00pm local time (12:00pm BST) on Sunday 30 April.
Source: Autosport