IS LECLERC THE BEST QUALIFIER OF THE CURRENT F1 ERA?

 

If ever a driver staked a claim to being the number one qualifier of the current Formula 1 era, Charles Leclerc bolstered his reputation with a stonking lap to take pole position for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

It was Scuderia’s 243rd, their fourth in Azerbaijan, the first courtesy of Sebastian Vettel in 2018. Carlos Sainz will start on the second row after qualifying fourth but nearly a second down on Leclerc’s effort in the sister Ferrari.

At the sharp end, that timesheet-topping lap by Leclerc was pure mastery in action, as he threaded his way through the unforgiving street circuit, lightly scraping walls with jaw-dropping accuracy and precision, sliding his way to the fastest time, by a couple of tenths over, Max Verstappen – perhaps the Ferrari driver’s only rival for qualy master of their generation. Thus the Monegasque ending Red Bull’s run of three out of three top-spot starts this season.