Formula 1 Records Broken in Baku

On Saturday, the Baku City Circuit witnessed new records in Formula 1 as six red flags interrupted the excitement during qualifying. When everything settled, Max Verstappen secured pole position, followed closely by Carlos Sainz Jr. and Liam Lawson.

Sainz’s impressive performance places him in a strong position for his first podium with Williams.

After qualifying, Sainz expressed how well Williams executed the session. “Honestly, we nailed the qualifying round today,” he shared with Jamie Chadwick. “Every time you find the right tires and deliver a solid lap, it shows.”

For a while, Sainz and Williams had hoped for pole position, especially since the Spanish driver briefly held the interim pole during an early run in the third quarter. With less than four minutes left in the final qualifying segment, there was a moment when it looked like Sainz might actually place the FW47 in P1.

Ultimately, he had to settle for starting on the front row alongside Verstappen.

“If McLaren or Red Bull managed a good lap, the gap was around 1/10 for places 3-5. Our simulations indicated that only Max and Rand could outpace us, so I was thinking about P3. It had to be Max who outperformed, right?” he reflected.

Looking ahead to the race, Sainz is optimistic about his chances for a podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. “It hasn’t been the most seamless weekend for me; I struggled with braking. I’ve faced similar issues with the car both in Canada and here. But today, in qualifying, I felt consistent, and the lap was solid.”

“Starting tomorrow from P2, we’re aiming for consistency and monitoring our pace. Our long run from yesterday showed we were quite fast, so I’m hopeful we can push for a strong result.”