Charles Leclerc on pole for Azerbaijan F1 GP as Lando Norris struggles to 17th

Leclerc takes second pole of season ahead of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen

Charles Leclerc secured his second pole position of the 2023 Formula 1 season after a thrilling qualifying session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver produced a stunning lap of 1:41.359 to beat Sergio Perez of Red Bull by 0.282 seconds.

Current world champion Max Verstappen will start alongside Perez on the front row of the grid after finishing just 0.115 seconds behind Leclerc.

Lando Norris endured a disappointing qualifying session as he could only manage 17th place for McLaren.

Norris was over a second off the pace of Leclerc and admitted that the team is struggling for pace this weekend.

McLaren have endured a difficult start to the season and are currently ninth in the constructors' championship.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari will start fourth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.

Sainz was just 0.052 seconds behind Verstappen, while Hamilton was 0.181 seconds further back.

Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin will start sixth, ahead of George Russell of Mercedes and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.

Nico Hulkenberg produced an impressive performance for Haas to qualify ninth, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri.

Hulkenberg has scored points in both races he has contested for Haas this season, while Tsunoda has impressed in recent races for AlphaTauri.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, June 12 at 3pm BST.