Formula 1 had a rare Friday qualifying session this weekend on the narrow streets of the Baku Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan. The afternoon Friday session on the coast of the Caspian Sea set the grid for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth Grand Prix of F1's 23 race season.

Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, set the quickest time in Q3, 1:40.203 seconds, to claim the pole - his first pole position of the 2023 season and the 19th pole of the 25 year old Monegasque's driver's career.

In his F1 career, Leclerc has thrived at Azerbaijan, having out-paced the rest of the field for a third consecutive time at the Baku City Circuit on Friday.

"It feels really good to be back on pole and it's something we didn't take for granted coming here. The team did a perfect job in managing the session and I'm very happy with my lap," said Leclerc.

Leclerc's Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, qualified fourth.

The Red Bull drivers, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, who are first and second in F1 points respectively, qualified second and third, respectively, behind the SF-23 of Ferrari's Leclerc.

"Charles looks pretty competitive this weekend, he always does in Baku. There are a few characteristics of the track that suit Ferrari and there are others that suit us better," said Verstappen.

Mercedes driver and seven time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, rounded out the top five in Friday's qualifying session at the Baku Circuit.

"Getting into a rhythm and pulling everything out on this track is not easy. In Q2, I struggled. I had more pace, but I didn't get the last lap together," said Hamilton. "My first run in Q3 was a sweet lap though. Unfortunately, I couldn't make a big improvement on my final run; I needed to find just a little bit more time to get ahead of the Ferrari (of Sainz)."

The first qualifying session, Q1, saw two lengthy red flag pauses with both AlphaTauri driver Nick de Vries and Alpine Racing's driver Pierre Gasly making hard contact with the Turn Three wall. Both drivers emerged uninjured.

"Obviously, it's been a very disappointing and tough day," said Gasly. "I'd like to say a big thanks to the mechanics for their recovery between Practice and Qualifying to make the changes and have the car ready. It's been one of those days where we've faced setbacks and it's important we all bounce back."

Gasly suffered a hydraulic leak to his A523 in the early Friday practice session, which led to his car catching fire and bringing out a red flag.

"It's been a frustrating day for the team and one we're aiming to move on from very quickly. On Pierre's side, it's been especially unfortunate with the hydraulic leak and car fire in Practice followed by his off in Q1," said Otmar Szafnauer, Alpine Team Principal.

Pos	Driver		Team		Laps	Gap

1	Leclerc		Ferrari		1:40.203	134.015 mph
2	Verstappen	Red Bull	1:40.391	0.188
3	Perez		Red Bull	1:40.495	0.292
4	Sainz		Ferrari		1:41.016	0.813
5	Hamilton	Mercedes	1:41.177	0.974
6	Alonso		Aston Martin	1:41.253	1.050
7	Norris		McLaren		1:41.281	1.078
8	Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1:41.581	1.378
9	Stroll		Aston Martin	1:41.611	1.408
10	Piastri		McLaren		1:41.611	1.408
11	Russell		Mercedes	1:41.654	
12	Ocon		Alpine		1:41.798	
13	Albon		Williams	1:41.818	
14	Bottas		Alfa Romeo	1:42.259	
15	Sargeant	Williams	1:42.395	
16	Zhou		Alfa Romeo	1:42.642	
17	Hulkenberg	Haas		1:42.755	
18	Magnussen	Haas		1:43.417	
19	Gasly		Alpine		1:44.853	
20	de Vries	AlphaTauri	1:55.282

(image provided by Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN)