Ferrari’s Leclerc beats Red Bulls to pole in first F1 sprint shootout

Charles Leclerc has secured the pole position for the first-ever Formula 1 sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite hitting the wall in his final attempt. The Ferrari driver was able to fend off the challenge from the Red Bull duo of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, who will start second and third respectively. Leclerc set the fastest time of in the eight-minute SQ3 session, which was enough to beat Perez by and Verstappen by . The Monegasque showed impressive pace in the twisty middle sector of the Baku circuit, where he gained most of his advantage over his rivals. However, he pushed too hard on his second run and lost control of his car at Turn 5, sliding into the barrier and damaging his front wing. He was able to reverse out of the wall and return to the pits, but his mistake also compromised the lap of his team-mate Carlos Sainz, who had to settle for fifth on the grid. Perez and Verstappen had a chance to snatch the pole position from Leclerc, but neit