Colapinto Advances to Q3 and Secures Tenth
Franco Colapinto secured tenth place on the grid for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after advancing to Q3 at the Baku City Circuit. The Argentine driver completed his fastest lap in 1:44.963, a time that did not allow him to climb further up the order. His teammate, Pierre Gasly, finished the session in seventh position. The result marked the third occasion this season that both Alpine drivers reached the final qualifying stage, following the same outcome at the Miami and Monza Grands Prix.[S1][S2][S5]
During his first attempt in Q3, Colapinto ran wide at Turn 15 and was unable to complete a timed lap. He locked his front-right tire heavily to avoid the wall and chose to continue straight rather than risk contact. He returned to the track for a final attempt, but the 1:44.963 he set was not enough to improve his position. George Russell claimed pole position with a time of 1:42.526, followed by Charles Leclerc in second and Oscar Piastri in third.[S1][S5]
The Road Through Q1 and Q2
Colapinto's path to Q3 began with a challenging Q1, where he recorded an initial time of 1:59.492 before improving to 1:45.768, a lap that moved him ahead of Sergio Pérez and into the leading positions. He ended the first segment in twelfth place, enough to advance to Q2. Kimi Antonelli was eliminated from the session after crashing into a wall at Turn 1 and breaking his front suspension, which brought out a yellow flag.[S2]
In Q2, Colapinto set a time of 1:44.869 while providing a slipstream for Gasly, who used the tow to move into seventh place. The Argentine driver then completed his final flying lap to advance from twelfth to tenth, overtaking Oliver Bearman. Gasly finished the segment in eighth, ensuring both Alpine cars progressed to Q3. The drivers eliminated in Q2 were Bearman, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad, and Antonelli, who had no time.[S2][S5]
Practice Sessions and Race Schedule
Earlier in the weekend, Colapinto finished the third and final practice session in tenth place with a time of 1m45s592, 1.670 seconds behind Max Verstappen's leading time of 1m43s922. Gasly ended the session sixth with 1m44s637, 0.955 seconds ahead of the Argentine. Verstappen topped the timesheet, followed by Russell and Antonelli. The session was briefly neutralized when Lance Stroll hit the wall at Turn 1 with the front-left wheel of his Aston Martin, and a Virtual Safety Car was deployed after a branch fell onto the track.[S2][S3]
The race is scheduled for Saturday at 08:00, Argentine time, over 51 laps. Qualifying began at 09:00. In Argentina, the entire weekend's activity is broadcast live on Fox Sports, available on Cablevisión Digital channels 25 (SD) and 106 (HD), DirecTV channels 105 (SD) and 1605 (HD), and Telecentro channels 101 (SD) and 1013 (HD). Digital coverage is offered through Telecentro Play, DGO, Flow, the Disney+ streaming platform, and the F1TV app.[S2][S3][S4]
