Second street circuit in a row, second pole position for Charles Leclerc: The Monegasque in a Ferrari once again came out on top at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while world championship leader Max Verstappen had to settle for third place on the grid in the eighth race of the season.
Because in between, the man of the hour in Formula 1, Red Bull runner-up Sergio Perez, drove in qualifying in Baku, who was only 0.282 seconds slower than Leclerc.
The two top teams in red and blue were once again in a league of their own on Saturday, more than a second per lap behind the chasing pack led by Mercedes.
After a very decent performance, Sebastian Vettel finished ninth in the Aston Martin.
Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, was unlucky, he is in last place with the Haas-Ferrari.
It was a strong mental comeback for Charles Leclerc after he was passed from the front to fourth place at the home game after a strategy chaos in the team and he is now nine points behind leader Verstappen in the World Cup.
Accordingly, the scream of the Monegasque after crossing the finish line was liberating: “Come on, folks!
Go now!”
His Ferrari is on the Platz an der Sonne for the sixth time this year, but he has only been able to win twice so far.
In Baku at the race on Sunday (1 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky), the general statistics speak against the pole sitter: only the first race in 2017 saw a start-finish victory.
Overall, it is the 15th pole position of Leclerc's career;
he has thus trumped opponent Verstappen.
The six kilometers from Baku is one of the most entertaining on the calendar, and not just because it's anti-clockwise.
The straights on the promenade are as long as the curves in the old town are tight.
75 percent full throttle, that's Monte Carlo at speed - with even more frequent touching of the barriers and crash barriers, which could turn a race completely upside down.
There isn't a favorite who hasn't stumbled here over the years.
Verstappen, for example, has never made it onto the podium in Aliyev State.
It's all set for fast-paced drama.
Mick Schumacher, who must be looking for compensation after the violent accident in Monte Carlo, was once again slowed down by bad luck.
A leak in the radiator intake cost him an important hour of practice on Friday, he didn't find the right rhythm on the track until qualifying, and a wrong tire strategy cost him a jump into the second qualifying round.
Accordingly annoyed, he said in front of the Sky microphone: “The car is better than last place.
But Baku is chaotic, you can score points from the back.”
Sebastian Vettel attracted attention in Baku not only with his messages for climate protection and world peace or his bicycle in rainbow colors, but also with his tenacious ambition to lead the Aston Martin Mercedes step by step forward.
For him, every weekend it's about approaching the limits of the car, which he managed to do with a top ten finish.
Teammate Lance Stroll, on the other hand, managed the feat of crashing twice in one qualifying lap.