Leclerc surprised by Mercedes' pace in Baku qualifying

Charles Leclerc was surprised by Mercedes' pace after qualifying second for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

Leclerc finished second

The Ferrari driver secured his place on the front row, finishing second with a time of 1:43.363 and 0.837 seconds behind his biggest challenger George Russell. Mercedes' advantage was much larger than they have expected after Ferrari had looked relatively competitive during practice.

Leclerc had finished fourth in both Thursday practice sessions, while Ferrari had identified the need to find more pace before qualifying.

Mercedes left Ferrari behind

Russell produced a 1:42.526 to take the pole position, while his teammate Kimi Antonelli crashed in Q1 and will start from 16th.

Leclerc will therefore start alongside Russell for Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Monegasque has a strong qualifying record in Baku, but has yet to win the race at the circuit.