With four teams battling for pole position, it was Charles Leclerc who set a remarkably fast lap of 1:41.365 seconds to take P1 ahead of Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz on the streets of Baku.

While championship leader Max Verstappen qualified in P6, his rival Lando Norris made a shock exit in Q1 as yellow flags prevented him from improving to P17. For the first time this season, Sergio Perez also successfully outqualified his Red Bull teammate in qualifying with a P4 finish.

READ MORE: Leclerc beats Piastri to pole in Azerbaijan as Norris suffers shock Q1 elimination

Williams’ Franco Colapinto elsewhere set an impressive lap time for ninth, while Ollie Bearman narrowly missed out on Q3 after beating experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.

The drivers were pushed to their limits and many clipped the barriers, which led to a yellow flag. Ultimately, there were no major incidents during the session. Alex Albon did have a bizarre moment towards the end, however, when his team left a fan on top of his car.

Click on the video player above to watch qualifying highlights from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.