FACTS AND STATS: A first front row in Baku for Verstappen but the wait for a Red Bull pole here continues

Friday qualifying yielded plenty of drama, with Charles Leclerc grabbing a first pole position of the season for Ferrari despite stiff competition from the Red Bull drivers. That was only half the story though, with two red flags disrupting proceedings in Q1 as both Nyck de Vries and Pierre Gasly came a cropper at Turn 3. Here are all the best facts and stats from a very busy Friday in Baku…

• Leclerc made it three consecutive poles at a venue for the first time in his F1 career.

• The Ferrari man has led one lap in each of his last two starts from pole here.

• Max Verstappen was second, and while Red Bull have never taken pole here, Ferrari have never won at this track.

READ MORE: Leclerc beats Verstappen in qualifying thriller for third straight Azerbaijan GP pole

• It is the Dutchman’s first ever front row start in Azerbaijan.

• Sergio Perez made it two Bulls in the top three for the first time since Bahrain.

• Third is where Verstappen won the race from in 2022.

• Carlos Sainz was fourth, meaning that the grid order is Ferrari, Red Bull, Red Bull, Ferrari for the second straight year.

• Lewis Hamilton’s P5 means he outqualified George Russell for the first time this year.

• Hamilton has only ever won from fifth once in his career – in Singapore in 2017.

• Fernando Alonso was sixth in his worst qualifying of the year.

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• Lando Norris managed seventh for his first Q3 appearance of the season.

• Yuki Tsunoda was eighth, in not just his, but also his team’s, first Q3 showing.

• The AlphaTauri man has never qualified lower than eighth in Baku in three appearances.

• Lance Stroll was ninth, for his highest start in Baku since 2017, when he finished on the podium.

• Oscar Piastri in P10 set an identical time to the Canadian.

• It did mean that both McLarens made Q3 for the first time this season.

• Russell was 11th, missing out on Q3 by just 0.004s.

• Alex Albon’s P13 was the best qualifying for Williams in Baku since 2018.

• Valtteri Bottas was 14th leaving Alfa Romeo as the only team without a Q3 appearance in 2023.

• Logan Sargeant became the first American to reach Q2 since Scott Speed at Silverstone in 2007.

• This was the first time Williams managed to get both cars into Q2 since Russia 2021.

WATCH: Nyck de Vries and Pierre Gasly crash out of Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying

• Zhou Guanyu missed out on Q2 by just 0.020s.

• Both Haas cars went out in Q1 for the first time since Austin last year.

• Kevin Magnussen was outqualified by a team mate here for the first time in his sixth visit.

• Pierre Gasly missed out in Q1 as he did in Bahrain.

• Nyck de Vries suffered his third Q1 elimination in four races.

• The Dutchman’s accident was identical to his team mate’s from qualifying here in 2021.