Azerbaijan GP Notes: Leclerc Pole, Gasly Disaster, Mercedes Plans, And More

A daily round-up to keep you updated on F1 when you're too busy.

F1 racing has finally got back underway after the four-week April break and the first day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix did not disappoint. 

Today consisted of the free practice session and qualifying for the grand prix on Sunday. 

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took pole position for the third time in Baku after an incredibly close qualifying session. 

Here is everything you need to catch up on. 

• Yuki Tsunoda Faces Azerbaijan GP Disaster After Crash In FP1
• WATCH: Pierre Gasly Out Of Azerbaijan GP FP1 As Alpine Bursts Into Flames
• Kevin Magnussen Third Driver To Be Out Of Azerbaijan GP FP1 As Chaotic Session Continues
• James Allison Reveals Plans On 2024 Mercedes W15: "No Great Revelation"
• Alpine Gives Update On Pierre Gasly's Car As Qualifying Looms After Chaotic Practice
• This Is Why Red Bull Is So Fast At The Azerbaijan GP Weekend
• Nyck de Vries Out Of Azerbaijan GP Qualifying After Crash Causes Early Red Flag
• Mercedes Director Gives Update On Lewis Hamilton's Azerbaijan GP Brake Troubles
• Pierre Gasly Out Of Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Amid Disastrous Weekend
• Charles Leclerc Takes Pole Position For Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Your F1 Guides - The Background To Help You Understand The News

• F1 Azerbaijan GP Practice Results: What Happened In the Dramatic Session?
• F1 Azerbaijan Qualifying Results: What Happened During Qualifying?

F1 Social Media

POLE KING IS BACK 👑

19th pole position for @Charles_Leclerc 🙌#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 pic.twitter.com/jZzgu1f1VD

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 28, 2023

Inspector Lewis 🕵️#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/mBjSsohKYB

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2023

In 2022:
- Max Verstappen DNF'ed in the first and third races.
- Max Verstappen took pole in the fourth race.
- Max Verstappen went on to win the championship.

In 2023:
- Charles Leclerc DNF'ed in the first and third races.
- Charles Leclerc took pole in the fourth race...
- ??? pic.twitter.com/ajF8pTYQlQ

— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) April 28, 2023

💬 "If you were going to choose a circuit to have a bad Qualifying at, this would probably be it. I see no reason why we can't fight back on Sunday, and we will see what we can do tomorrow." pic.twitter.com/2fdKLInlWK

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 28, 2023

No new softs left for Norris or Tsunoda after today, which means if either of them reach Q3 in the Sprint Shootout they can’t run - the rules mandate a new set of softs for that session #F1 #AzerbaijanGP

— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) April 28, 2023