That said, let's look at the facts. As Motorsport.com Italia reports, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session left the Scuderia fighting for the scraps behind a dominant Mercedes. George Russell put on a masterclass this weekend, leaving the field behind and taking pole position by a gap of over 8 decimi di secondo.
Behind the untouchable W17, Charles Leclerc squeezed everything out of his machine to take second place on the grid for tomorrow's race, beating Oscar Piastri by a tiny millesimo. It was a chaotic session for everyone as temperatures dropped significantly compared to previous days. The top three teams even ran three different strategies, with Ferrari and Mercedes opting for consecutive runs while McLaren chose a single-run approach.
Unfortunately, the other side of the garage had a much harder afternoon. Lewis Hamilton struggled more than expected, ending up only sixth on the grid. Frédéric Vasseur revealed that the seven-time world champion clipped the wall on his very first lap in Q3, putting him on the back foot. Track position made things even worse, leaving the British driver without a tow when it mattered most. That mistimed sequence cost him 1 or 2 decimi, which likely would have recovered a position for him.
Vasseur didn't hide his bitterness when talking about the wider environment either. Dealing with the intense pressure of leading the team is tough enough, but recent reports about impending staff departures have added unnecessary noise. "The lack of serenity does not help the team," Vasseur pointed out, noting how fierce the competition is right now with four teams fighting within hundredths of a second.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, the race presents a different set of challenges. Degradation at Baku is expected to be very low, and overtaking on track will likely prove difficult. Even though Russell has looked unbeatable with super pace since Free Practice 1, Vasseur made it clear that the team refuses to throw in the towel. They plan to fight and push until the very end.
