Nico Rosberg will start the inaugural race around the Baku Street Circuit from pole position after a mistake from his Mercedes AMG PETRONAS team-mate Lewis Hamilton gave him a free run to top spot.
Despite glancing a wall himself during his qualifying run, Rosberg was 0.757 seconds faster than anybody else due to secure his third pole position of the season, and with his team-mate down in tenth as a result of a session-ending crash, he is ready to return to winning ways at the Azerbaijan circuit.
“That was a very exciting Qualifying session today,” insisted Rosberg. “In Q3, Lewis went down the escape road in front of me on his first run, so I had to back down and abort that lap.
“I therefore only had one quick lap at the end – but I got it all together and felt pretty confident that it was enough to get pole after I heard that Lewis was out. It’s a great feeling to start from P1 as I have the best chance for tomorrow.
“It’s a very demanding track here and you are not allowed to make a single mistake, so it will be a long race with a lot of things going on. It’s definitely a good track for overtaking and there will be Safety Car moments for sure as we have seen in GP2, so I must be prepared for that.
“I expect a fast comeback from Lewis even though he’s starting P10, as we have seen recently that he’s finished P2 even coming from the back. It’s going to be an exciting race to watch. I’m looking forward to it.”
