Qualifying seemed to go on for ever, with a record number of red flags, plenty of yellow ones and a few drops of rain. It finally ended with yet another pole position for Max Verstappen. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers drivers' reactions after the incident-filled session.

Red Bull

“I am really happy with our performance today and it was enjoyable, once I crossed the line! Of course, there was a lot of interruption and it was difficult to get a rhythm with the red flags throughout the whole session. This lap is hard to nail and it is not always easy to go on the limit, it is so easy to make a mistake with such unpredictable conditions.

"I was really happy with how Q1 and Q2 was going and I felt good every time I went out and comfortable with the car. Q3 was such a long wait and difficult to choose the medium or the soft tyres and it was all down to the last lap. We ended up on the soft tyre for the final lap, which wasn’t my favourite and the only new tyre we had.

"You had to commit, not fully knowing the grip levels out there. However, we nailed the lap and it was a big achievement for us to get pole. For tomorrow, I was happy with the long runs over this weekend so I am hoping that we can put in a similar positive performance.”

Yuki Tsunoda, 6th, 1:42.143
"Today was my best-ever Qualifying result with the Team and that's a real positive to show that we're heading in the right direction. I'm happy to have kept it clean throughout as it was a really chaotic session with all the stoppages and changing conditions. Driving around Baku is always different, just a few millimetres can make the difference and the risk of yellow and red flags is always there.

"We also had the wind to contend with which added something else to overcome. From Q1, I made every lap count and managed to stay competitive which was a real positive. For the final lap in Q3 I wasn't able to get a reference lap which made it tricky to put it all together, but I can still be happy with P6.

"Myself and the Team have been working so hard to improve the performance and the changes we've made to the car have definitely helped us. I’ve also put in a lot of hard work on the sim, which we’re hopefully starting to see the results of. I’m looking forward to battling hard tomorrow, the long runs in practice were promising so we want to capitalise on the great work we’ve put in so far this weekend.”

Williams

Alex Albon, 20th, 1:43.778
"I’m very disappointed after a mistake in Q1 ended our Qualifying early. I made a mistake on my second push lap, the track had evolved, and I was caught out with the different levels of grip going into the corner. It was a misjudgement, and it is a shame as the car was feeling good all weekend, and I have been running in the top 10 throughout the practice sessions.

"It’s about recovery tomorrow to make up positions and to fight through the field during the Race. The car has a lot of potential, and Carlos did a great job to get into the top three today. We will give it everything during the Race and maybe there will be some weather or luck on our side."

"Great effort today! Very happy! We executed a very difficult Qualifying perfectly, nailing every call and putting together some very solid laps when it mattered the most. We need to feel proud of the steps we are making and today’s result, but at the same time the weekend is not over yet. Tomorrow will be tough but I fully trust I have strong pace and I will do everything to bring home a great result. Let’s go for it!"

Racing Bulls

“It was really tricky out there today, but a great result for the team. We managed the whole session perfectly until the final corner of the final lap, where I went a bit too hard over the curb and lost eight-tenths. The main focus was keeping it on track while pushing to the absolute limit.

"The car felt incredibly fast, and I wanted to head back out after the red flag for another shot, but I made a mistake. We’re still in a good position to score points tomorrow, even though we were hoping for a bit more. It’s all to play for.”

"It's obviously been a great day. It was one of the most crazy Qualifying sessions I've been in, but we did the right thing by playing it safe to maximise laps. When it's windy, it's arguably more tricky than rain, because you don't know where it's coming from.

"It was changing from lap to lap, but we committed and I feel super happy that everything came together for a strong Quali result. It's going to be a hard race tomorrow, but it's a great position to start in. We're well aware of the guys who we're racing around us, but we'll work hard as a team and fight to keep position."

Mercedes

"That was a frantic qualifying session. P5 is perhaps not the maximum we could have achieved today but it still gives us a solid starting position for tomorrow. That is even more important when you see how others struggled with the difficult conditions and where they will be starting for the Grand Prix.

"It wasn’t just the wind or the rain that came and went several times that made it challenging. We also had to evaluate the medium tyre, which we only ran for the first time this weekend in Q1. It proved a useful tyre to get through the first two segments but, as the track cooled and more rain fell, we opted to take the soft compound for our final run.

"That was probably the correct decision, but I wasn’t able to maximise the lap as we ran on the early side when the track was perhaps a little more slippery. From a personal perspective, I’ve not felt 100 per cent this weekend either. That made today even tougher but I’m looking forward to resting up tonight, coming back stronger tomorrow and hopefully being in the fight for the podium."

"That was a very difficult qualifying session for everyone out there! We had really windy conditions but also rain which made the white lines around the circuit in particular feel like ice. Judging how much to push and when was a real challenge and that wasn’t helped by all the red flag interruptions. You usually want to get into a rhythm for qualifying but that wasn’t possible today.

"For my last run, we opted to take the medium tyre. I couldn’t quite get the required temperature into it as the track was still cold and slippery. I also lost a few tenths with a gust of wind into the final corner. Without those, I think we could have been on the front-row. That is a shame, but we still have a decent starting position for tomorrow. Hopefully we can look forward and be in the battle for the top three."

McLaren

“A disappointing end to Qualifying. I was pushing a little bit too hard and, unfortunately, paid the price. The car felt good, and we were in a good position to fight for pole, so it’s a shame. There are still plenty of opportunities to maximise the pace I know we have. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

“It was a difficult session, especially at the end with a scrappy lap that wasn't good enough. With a bit of rain, and difficult track conditions it’s hard to know how much risk to take and this time it didn't pay off. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the pace looks good so we'll work hard to make up the positions we lost today."

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc, 10th, No time set in Q3
"We bet on medium as the best compound today, but unfortunately, with the cooler temperatures and drizzle we faced at the start of Q3, it became difficult to get the tyres in the right window.

"I over-dedicated myself to that corner and just didn’t have the grip, so I made a mistake. We were on the wrong side of things today, just like some others, so we will have to make the best of it tomorrow and fight to make our way back to the front."

"I’m disappointed not to have been able to convert our strong start to the weekend into a good qualifying result. We will be looking at the session as a team so we can take the learnings from it. We know it will be a challenge tomorrow, but the car has felt good all weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the race."

Aston Martin

"It went a little better than we expected today in Qualifying and I think to be on the edge of Q3 is a good result for us. There were a lot of red and yellow flags, so we weren't able to get too many laps on the board. We opted to run mostly with the medium tyres and I think it worked quite well, but it's tricky to say which compound is better.

"The windy conditions made it difficult out there and it made every lap very inconsistent. It's meant to be windy tomorrow as well, so we'll see what happens."

"We had a good Q1, but only got a couple laps on the board in Q2 because the wind was changing direction every lap. They were very tricky conditions and not easy to get clean laps in because you suddenly lose downforce. We will start from P14 tomorrow and see what we can do."

Kick Sauber

“It’s obviously going to be a challenge starting from where we are, but crazy things can happen at this track and we’re here to fight. The car has felt decent all weekend overall, and if things open up in the race, we’ll try to take full advantage. We’ll reset tonight and give it everything tomorrow.”

“Qualifying felt like I did not get the perfect lap today. I lost some time in the last corner and, with the windy conditions, it was tricky for us to put everything together. Still, I managed to bring the car safely into Q2, which was a decent outcome: of course, as a driver you always want the very best result, and I am obviously a bit disappointed, but I think this is what was achievable for us today.

"Now, we look ahead to tomorrow: our race pace has shown some potential, and if we can manage the opening laps well, I believe we can put in a solid performance and hopefully fight for points again.”

Haas

Esteban Ocon, DSQ, 1:43.004
“I was locking up in each of my laps, we had big issues with braking. We had it yesterday, but even more so today, so I’m really disappointed as I think there’s more in the car than that. Today’s disappointing to be where we are, but tomorrow hopefully we’ll come back and take every opportunity that presents itself.”

“I touched the wall at Turn 2 when trying to get an early lap on the board, as there were lots of interruptions before. Every lap is important - we nearly got thrown out in Q1 because of that – but I unfortunately got caught out by the wind, so I can only say sorry to the team."

Alpine

Pierre Gasly, 19th, 1:43.139
“It was very tricky out there today with such strong winds. Sorry to the team for the mistake, which, regardless of the conditions, is on me. I just tried to brake marginally later into Turn 4 and as soon as I braked, I lost the rear and had to avoid the corner and go straight. I may have been caught out by a high gust of wind, but it is disappointing not to have put together that lap as it looked close to progressing to Q2.

"I was improving and we needed to take some risks to go through. We will try and get something from the race tomorrow. The car is difficult here, especially in finding any consistency, and we are just not at ease. We will try our best in the race and see what we can do to maximise our end result.”

“The car felt much better today and we made some good steps forward from yesterday. The first run on softs in Qualifying was already looking more positive and we were in the mix to get through. I was up on my delta at the start of the final lap in Q1, but a big gust of wind into Turn 4 meant I lost the rear completely and made contact with the wall on the outside.

"Wind tends to play a major factor here, but it seemed more so today with gusts catching a lot of people out with multiple incidents and stoppages throughout Qualifying. It's a pity that we didn't get to complete the lap, as I felt with how the car was feeling, we had a good chance of getting through to Q2.

"Also sorry to the team for the extra work. Let's see what's possible tomorrow as this race tends to throw up a lot of surprises.”