Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel pulled out all the stops to snatch pole position for the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Behind him will be the two Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The Red Bull duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were 4th and 5th. Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen had to settle for 6th after a mistake in the last sector.
Force India’s Esteban Ocon was the best of the rest in 7th ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez and the 2 Renaults of Hulkenberg and Sainz. But Hulk has a grid penalty, which will promote Lance Stroll into the top 10.
During the first segment of qualifying, there was a hairy moment between the 2 Toro Rosso drivers. Pierre Gasly barely managed to avoid a shunt with a slow-moving Brendon Hartley. Gasly ran wide and vented his frustration on the radio. Later, it transpired that Hartley had a puncture, which explained his limping car.
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The session was fairly action-packed, here is how Twitter reacted to the session.
Soooooo Kimi.. the surely, almost, nearly, but not quite there again #F1 #AzerbaijanGP
— Sue #TheF1Loopynator 🏎 🏁 (@F1Loopy) April 28, 2018
#AzerbaijanGP update; We have our poleman and our grid lineup, all that's left is a good, clean, #Fit4F1 street fight. #BakuF1 https://t.co/kFXhY3GUAI pic.twitter.com/teW80EJTjN
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) April 28, 2018
All that was between #Kimi7 & pole position was that little slide! Phew! Missed by an inch @ScuderiaFerrari #Quali #AzerbaijanGP #F1
— Jainam Mehta (@Jainam09) April 28, 2018
Vettel holds off the two Mercedes to take pole ?? Both Force Indias in the top 10 ?? #AzerbaijanGP ???? #F1 pic.twitter.com/SkqmUDXuoK https://t.co/aCQsyjD4Sl
— TF1C Mercedes (@TF1C_Mercedes) April 28, 2018
#AzerbaijanGP #F1 fast lane
— Benwayne Bizzy James (@BenwayneJ) April 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/Lennys_Blog/status/990248296810799104
Ferrari got Seb a "party mode" pedal but everyone's silent 🐸 ☕ #AzerbaijanGP
— Bolaji (@ThisIsBolaji) April 28, 2018
Should have been #Kimi7 on the pole but hey #Kimi7 all the best for tomorrow's race. #AzerbaijanGP @F1 All the best @ScuderiaFerrari
— MohdSRZ (@MohdSRZ) April 28, 2018
@svandoorneis again 0,5sec slower than @alo_oficial, very concerning for his F1 future. He’s too nice, needs more grunt. #AzerbaijanGP
— Klaas Backers (@klaasbackers) April 28, 2018
The moment @pierregasly avoided an accident#f1 #Qualifying #AzerbaijanGP #Gasly #Hartley #formula1 #Baku pic.twitter.com/4mF00nNpDG
— Racing Lines (@racinglines_) April 28, 2018
I think when last time was F1 qualify time in dry conditions slower than year before. 2014? 🤔#F1 #AzerbaijanGP
— Jan Schneeberger (@schnebka) April 28, 2018
Tomorrow's #AzerbaijanGP is going to be classic. Nail-biting until the end. You cannot predict this race.
— 🅵1🆂🅰🆂🅷🅰 (@F1sasha) April 28, 2018
Crouch with me 🙏 #F1 #AzerbaijanGp
Credit: f1.addict (IG) pic.twitter.com/3zyGqCMrPU— WTF1 (@wtf1official) April 27, 2018
Kimi fans right now #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/YGXbv3HfkW
— Aarav (@_aarava) April 28, 2018
Drama in Baku!
Hartley and teammate Gasly almost collide 💥#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/h6ayBqFJZK
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2018
Hartley deserves to be starting from the moon after an incident like that.. #F1 #AzerbaijanGP
— Benjamin (@Tiametmarduk) April 28, 2018
Kimi Raikkonen lost it at last corner… 😢 #f1 #AzerbaijanGP #scuderiaferrari pic.twitter.com/sRYQbrVnCx
— Usman Ahmed (@usmanA23) April 28, 2018
📻Hartley: "I'm sorry about that guys, I was trying to get out the way but it was too late and I went the wrong way"#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/LD6MZ7jjaa
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2018
Cue the Memes
*record scratch*
*freeze frame*
Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/XYYLr4YMx5
— Koen S. (@KSniekers) April 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/itsmesums/status/990252775954157568
We will be cheering you on to points tomorrow team! Has been great seeing the new car in real life for the first time this weekend #BelieveInMcLaren #Points #AzerbaijanGP
— Suzanne (@SuzanneArmstr20) April 28, 2018
My only favorite track on F1 2017 game #AzerbaijanGP The track where I can beat his record @GonzalezMonette Psssshhh HAHAHA 😉😝😂🤣 https://t.co/0IbPjrPJ4b
— 𝒦𝓎𝓇𝒶✨ (@kiramrtnz) April 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/AbhimanyuKohli/status/990253345204912128
That's it, pole for Sebastian Vettel. First time he's had three straight poles since Italy to Korea in 2013 #F1 #AzerbaijanGP
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) April 28, 2018
🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP – Qualifying 🏁 pic.twitter.com/zjF8sQEMOz
— Toro Rosso (@ToroRosso) April 28, 2018
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MiniDrivers – #F1 – #AzerbaijanGP – Qualifying #Vettel #Hamilton #Bottas pic.twitter.com/l9bPErMJF0
— MiniDrivers (@OfficialMinis) April 28, 2018
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Arghhhhh it could have been a pole position for Kimi. Record in S1 and S2, it's a pity for the mistake in S3 🙁 #AzerbaijanGP
— Gianluca D'Alessandro (@Gianludale27) April 28, 2018