Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/841483
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JUNE 2017 51 Sport FORMULA 1 Hamilton storms to Baku pole Lewis Hamilton will start the 2017 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position after beating Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas by half a second in a frantic end to Saturday's qualifying session in Baku. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finished fourth behind Ferrari partner Kimi Raikkonen Q3 was red flagged with 3m 33s remaining after Daniel Ricciardo lost the rear of his Red Bull on the exit of Turn 6 and clouted the wall, ending the Australian's hopes. It set up a barnstorming end to the hour when running resumed. Max Verstappen was first on track and took the sole remain- ing Red Bull to fifth, ahead of the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. Williams rookie Lance Stroll out-qualified team mate Felipe Massa for eighth, with the unfortunate Ricciardo com- pleting the top ten. Hamilton had dominated Q1 with a lap of 1m 41.983s which left Verstappen breathless on 1m 42.544s as Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Vettel (with a new 'old' engine in his Ferrari after his car developed a water leak in FP3) and Bottas fol- lowed. Down the back, Kevin Magnus- sen saved what was looking like a disastrous session for Haas by bumping Fernando Alonso out of Q2 at the last moment. Thus the McLaren star was 16th on 1m 44.334s ahead of 'wallbanger' Ro- main Grosjean in the other Haas on 1m 44.468s. Marcus Ericsson was the lone Sauber eliminated on 1m 44.795s as team mate Pascal Wehrlein had produced a great 15th fastest lap of 1m 44.317s, which left McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne as the final dropout in 19th with 1m 45.030s, as Jolyon Palmer's Renault was still out of action following its FP3 fire. Hamilton went even faster in Q2, drawing gasps with 1m 41.275s, which Bottas eventually got clos- er to with m 41.502s as Vettel claimed third with 1m 41.911s. The Toro Rosso boys batted throughout and were the first fall- ers in 11th and 12th, with Daniil Kvyat on 1m 43.186s and Carlos Sainz on 1m 43.347s. Behind them, Magnussen was 13th on 1m 32.796s, as Nico Hulkenberg struggled to 1m 44.267s after electrical problems on his Re- nault, and Wehrlein lapped his Sauber in 1m 44.603s. Hamilton looked set to domi- nate the first runs in Q3 again, but had a less than great third sector, so Bottas was the faster this time with 1m 41.274s to 1m 41.428s. That left them comfortably ahead of Verstappen on 1m 42.261s and Raikkonen on 1m 42.446s, how- ever, as Vettel's hopes of improv- ing on 1m 43.194s ended in the Turn 2 escape road. Then Ricciardo's Red Bull stopped in Turn 6, after he broad- sided and brushed the outer wall, bringing out the red flag. At the same time Raikkonen had gone off in Turn 2, and Perez brushed a wall, so team mate Ocon was the faster Force India in fifth on 1m 42.833s, ahead of Vettel. Neither Williams had run by this stage. After the nine-minute delay, would anyone be able to generate sufficient tyre and brake tempera- tures to improve in the three and a half minutes that remained? Yes was the answer. Bottas im- proved, to 1m 41.027s, but Hamil- ton pulled out a stonker to snatch pole back with 1m 40.593s. As Verstappen failed to improve on 1m 41.879s, Red Bull saw their second-row slot disappear as both Raikkonen and Vettel improved, to 1m 41.695s and 1m 41.841s apiece. Perez jumped up too, to sixth in 1m 42.111s as Ocon failed to bet- ter his 1m 42.186s, while Stroll just edged out Williams team mate Massa, with 1m 42.753s to 1m 42.798s. Ricciardo was left 10th on his previous 1m 43.414s. Both McLarens will start from the rear of the field on Sunday thanks to multiple grid penal- ties for use of additional Honda power unit elements, while Sainz will lose three grid spots for causing a collision last time out in Canada. Saturday's qualifying result marks Mercedes' second front- row lock-out of the season, and Hamilton's 66th F1 pole - leav- ing him just two shy of matching Michael Schumacher's all-time record. (L to R): Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari, pole sitter Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 and Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 celebrate in parc ferme at Formula One World Championship, Rd8, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Qualifying, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan Qualifying results - 2017 Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix Pos. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps 1. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:41.983 01:41.275 01:40.593 20 2. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:43.026 01:41.502 01:41.027 23 3. K. Raikkonen Ferrari 01:42.678 01:42.090 01:41.693 23 4. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:42.952 01:41.911 01:41.841 23 5. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:42.544 01:41.961 01:41.879 22 6. S. Pérez Force India 01:43.162 01:42.467 01:42.111 21 7. E. Ocon Force India 01:43.051 01:42.751 01:42.186 21 8. L. Stroll Williams 01:43.613 01:42.284 01:42.753 21 9. F. Massa Williams 01:43.165 01:42.735 01:42.798 22 10. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:42.857 01:42.215 01:43.414 20 11. D. Kvyat Toro Rosso 01:42.927 01:43.186 19 12. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:43.489 01:43.347 20 13. K. Magnussen Haas 01:44.029 01:43.796 18 14. N. Hulkenberg Renault 01:43.930 01:44.267 12 15. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:44.317 01:44.603 18 16. F. Alonso McLaren 01:44.334 9 17. R. Grosjean Haas 01:44.468 10 18. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:44.795 10 19. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:45.030 8