Sebastian Vettel will start on pole for the third consecutive time this season – something which hasn't happened since 2013 – after he mastered the Baku Circuit during qualifying on Saturday.
The Ferrari driver will have main championship rival Lewis Hamilton for company on the front row of the grid. Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo fill the second row ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.
There are two gearbox penalties, only one of which impacts the grid as Romain Grosjean qualified last and therefore cannot move further back. Nico Hulkenberg meanwhile drops five places, promoting the five drivers who qualified behind him; Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Sergey Sirotkin, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc.
2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Starting Grid
Pos | Driver | Team | Penalty | ↑/↓ | |
1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | – | ||
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | – | ||
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | – | ||
4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | – | ||
5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | – | ||
6 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | – | ||
7 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | – | ||
8 | Sergio Perez | Force India | – | ||
9 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | ↑1 | ||
10 | Lance Stroll | Williams | ↑1 | ||
11 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | ↑1 | ||
12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | ↑1 | ||
13 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | ↑1 | ||
14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | Gearbox | ↓5 | |
15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | – | ||
16 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | – | ||
17 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | – | ||
18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | – | ||
19 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | – | ||
20 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Gearbox | – |