Oscar Piastri had “a lot less to lose” in qualifying as he outlined his plan to take an early lead in the race in Baku

After qualifying, he explained that he gained extra time in close competition after “getting a little closer to the walls,” but he was “a little too close” on the final lap.

HIGHLIGHTS: Follow the qualifying action from Baku, where Leclerc takes pole while Norris suffers a surprise Q1 exit

“[I] “I just tried to really make the most of it,” said Piastri. “This track really rewards effort, so in the final laps of Q3 I knew I had a lot less to lose, so I just tried to get the best out of the car. It felt good the whole time, I just didn't push it as much in the first part of qualifying, but I'm very happy with Q3.”

“I think it's going to be really hard to chase someone here. We saw yesterday that once you're chasing someone, it's pretty difficult. Hopefully I can get some free time, that would be good. We'll see what we can do. I think our race pace is good, but the Ferrari is definitely not slow.”