Formula 1: Bottas takes Azerbaijan pole as Leclerc hits wall

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Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton lining up on the front row.

The Finn produced an outright record lap in one minute and 40.495 seconds to outpace the championship leader and defending world champion by 0.059 seconds.

It was Bottas's first pole in Baku and the eighth of his career. For Mercedes, it was a fourth consecutive one-two in qualifying.

Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen steers his car during the third practice session ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, April 27, 2019. /VCG Photo

Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari while his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who had been fastest in practice, crashed out when he rammed into a wall, during the Q2 part of a prolonged and incident-hit qualifying session.

"I am stupid, I am stupid," said a dejected Leclerc over the team radio, before stepping out of the car and returning to the garage.

"I will push to learn from this and come back stronger and hopefully have a very good race tomorrow," added the 21-year-old Monegasque, who smashed into the same wall that claimed Kubica's Williams earlier in the session.

Leclerc, who took his first career F1 pole in Bahrain in March, will start in ninth place on Sunday on a circuit that has been good to him in the past.

"It was a nice lap and Ferrari has been really strong. Obviously Charles was out by a mistake and as a team we feel really good to be where we are now. It's all about small margins," commented Bottas.

(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)