Azerbaijan - Qualifying
The very first qualifying session provided the excitement that many fans have come to expect from the tight circuit on the streets of Baku. It started after a few minutes' delay and saw Isack Hadjar set the quickest early time out of all competitors. All drivers, save for Alex Albon, who went off track during his attempt, added times to the leaderboard and began their attempts at improving around the ever-evolving circuit when tragedy struck the Championship Leader, Kimi Antonelli. As he began his second timed lap, he hit the wall by the very first turn, puncturing his left front tire and significantly damaging his suspension. Although he begged his team to let him get the car to the pits in hopes of fixing it before Q2, he was informed that the damage was too severe. He had to thus retire from the session and watch his name tumble down the standings. In the meantime, the backmarkers did everything they could to try and secure a spot in the top 16. A few of them saw their attempts...