BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - NOVEMBER 29: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP looks on from the grid before the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on November 29, 2020 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mario Renzi - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton will start the Azerbaijan GP from 7th place on the grid, two places behind team-mate George Russell
Lewis Hamilton has qualified seventh for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, two places and 0.212 seconds behind Mercedes’ team-mate George Russell, who was 1.353secs adrift of the pole time set by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. The 7-time World Champion has failed to make it to the podium since the first race of the season in Bahrain and would be hoping for better results in Baku.
Despite a not-so-good qualifying session, Hamilton is hopeful of making it to the podium. “There’s lots to look forward to! It’s usually a tricky and chaotic race here. We’re in the top 10 and there’s a lot that can happen. So, we’re going to give it everything and hopefully, we’ll have a better race pace”, said the Brit.
Hamilton, who had previously never qualified lower than second for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, however feels Mercedes are far behind Ferrari and Red Bull at the moment.
“We’re not even racing those guys at the front, they’re in a completely different league. So, it seems that these guys are miles ahead, and then there is this pack that we’re in. I guess you could say that George is pole and I’m third and that’s the real race”, said Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc will start in pole position if the sixth time this season and he’ll be flanked by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Championship leader Max Verstappen will start in third place while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz sits in the fourth spot – making it all-Ferrari-Red Bull, the top four for the race.
Not far behind the two top teams are Mercedes racers George Russell (starting fifth) and Lewis Hamilton (starting seventh). The Mercedes drivers had clear porpoising issues in qualifying, but still, put their cars in a position to make the GP a bit more interesting.
The AlphaTauri duo of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda will start in sixth and eighth spots respectively.
Here’s how the complete grid looks like ahead of the race in Baku –
| Position | Driver (Team) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) |
| 2 | Sergio Perez (Red Bull) |
| 3 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) |
| 5 | George Russell (Mercedes) |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) |
| 9 | Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso (Alpine) |
| 11 | Lando Norris (McLaren) |
| 12 | Daniel Riccardo (McLaren) |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon (Alpine) |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen (Haas) |
| 17 | Alexander Albon (Williams) |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi (Williams) |
| 19 | Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) |
| 20 | Mick Schumacher (Haas) |
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