The Monegask becomes the first driver to repeat first on the grid in Azerbaijan, while the driver from Madrid fails again at the worst moment
Charles Leclerc is the true king of Saturdays in this 2022 season. Six of eight pole positions, four consecutive, always on the front row and the first driver to repeat pole position in Azerbaijan since this edition. The Monegask is clearly superior and the obvious candidate to be reckoned with on any qualifying day, something that gives him a major advantage over Carlos Sainz.
The man from Madrid has a resounding 8-0 against his partner. He has not been able to beat him in any classification and this time it was seen again that he is unable to give his breast at the moment of truth. Neither for good nor for evil. Sainz started Q3 brilliantly, put in a great time and it looked like he could achieve the first pole position of his sporting career in Baku, but nothing could be further from the truth. After beating Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc, his teammate swept him away by a half-minute margin and, when he was pushing his limits, he slipped in until he hit the wall. It didn’t end nearly against him.
But there are also those who blame Sainz for a lack of mischief. The regulations stipulate that a red flag must be shown in the event of an accident. If Sainz had crashed hard enough to stop the session or at least get a yellow flag, his rivals wouldn’t have been able to catch up. As long as this kind of cheating isn’t punished, it’s “illegal” anyway, but Sainz preferred to try legal means.
In this way, the Spaniard from Ferrri not only managed to take pole position, but was also overtaken by the two Red Bulls. Once again, Leclerc will have to defend against the attacks of Perez (who comes with the perfect ‘momentum’ after a win in Monaco) and Verstappen, who also wasn’t very happy to see himself outdone again. The championship leader is also starting to feel pressure from his own teammate.
“I took a step forward compared to free practice 3 and I was battling for pole, but well, I went looking for the limit, went looking for that last tenth in the car, I made a mistake in turn 2,” Sainz admitted. “I’ve been a little too aggressive with the throttle and well, it is what it is. If you’re already looking for the limit on pole, these things happen. The good thing is that I have been closer to almost the entire classification and have been more in the fight,” he insisted on his justifications. For mental strength, he will try to prove himself this Sunday with a good flight.
Fernando Alonso will start tenth at the Azerbaijan GP, from which he will try to repeat his great start to 2021, in which he finished sixth in the first meters. It would have been easier if the Asturian driver had been nicer, as he did on Friday, but he was not having his day. He made several mistakes and even one caused great anger in an opponent.
At the end of Q1, Alex Albon complained that Alonso had driven very erratic, losing time and thus being eliminated and unable to progress to Q2. The Anglo-Thai accused the Spaniards of being slow on purpose, but nothing more. Simply, the reality hit them hard in a different classification.
“I didn’t have any major problems, the car also felt good, but those 3-4 tenths separating us from the sixth… we didn’t have those. Let’s see if we can get them back,” the Spaniard wished from Alpine. “Anything can happen. We’ve already seen it today. I made a mistake in Turn 15, Sebastian (Vettel) went into the wall in that same corner, so did the McLarens…so tomorrow it’s going to happen and you have to be alert and focused , don’t make mistakes. It’s going to be a race full of traps, and you have to try to stay away from them,” predicted Alonso, who has been very ‘salsero’ all weekend and wanted the rhythm of the dance closer to his wishes.
Source: La Verdad
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