Baku GP provisional grid: Leclerc with surprise pole, Norris receives grid penalty

The Baku City Circuit has once again proven that it can make for chaotic sessions. The qualifying session was dominated by red flags, with Charles Leclerc eventually finishing in pole position. Here's the provisional grid for tomorrow's race.

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix ended with a red flag, allowing Charles Leclerc to retain his place in P1. That was the case again in Baku, but without crashing, the Monegasque seems to be able to start this time. He can expect an exciting fight from the start though, as Lewis Hamilton is next to him on the front row and a disappointed Max Verstappen starts the race in third. The Dutchman will do everything he can to regain the 'lost' places at the start.

Besides Verstappen there is another surprise. Pierre Gasly has secured the fourth spot on the grid, as the other Red Bull Racing and Mercedes drivers disappoint. Sergio Perez will start from P6, while Valtteri Bottas is tenth.

Potentially high number of penalties

There are also a number of question marks over the starting grid in Baku. There were no less than four red flags in the session, meaning many cars are in the garage with a lot of damage. Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo may lose some places on the grid due to their respective crashes and damage suffered. Lance Stroll and Antonio Giovinazzi don't have to worry about that as they parked their car in the wall in Q1.

One driver has already received a penalty, and that is Lando Norris. The Briton did not immediately go into the pit lane after the red flag signal and he has received a grid penalty of three places and three penalty points on his license. But with a number of repairs still to be made, the starting grid for Baku has not yet been determined.

Provisional starting grid GP Baku:

1. Charles Leclerc

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Max Verstappen

4. Pierre Gasly

5. Carlos Sainz*

6. Sergio Perez

7. Yuki Tsunoda*

8. Fernando Alonso

9. Lando Norris**

10. Valtteri Bottas

11. Sebastian Vettel

12. Esteban Ocon

13. Daniel Ricciardo*.

14. Kimi Raikkonen

15. George Russell

16. Nicholas Latifi

17. Mick Schumacher

18. Nikita Mazepin

19. Lance Stroll

20. Antonio Giovinazzi

*Could be penalised for replacing parts.

**Three place grid penalty for not entering pit lane immediately after red flag.