Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas steers his car during the qualifying session for the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on April 27, 2019. / AFP / Alexander NEMENOV
BAKU, Azerbaijan: Valtteri Bottas qualified in pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday after a crash involving Charles Leclerc helped to ensure one of the longest qualifying sessions in recent years.
Bottas' last lap of the session was 1 minute, 40.495 seconds, leaving him 0.059 ahead of teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel was third, 0.302 off Bottas' time.
Leclerc had been fastest in all three practice sessions but crashed his Ferrari and qualified 10th.
Robert Kubica's miserable comeback season for Williams continued as he qualified last and crashed at the same spot as Leclerc, a narrow section by the old city walls. The two incidents caused lengthy delays for barrier repairs.
