The Latest Breaking News from Mercedes

While Hamilton was not too disheartened to qualify fifth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, just behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, the near one-second gap to poleman Charles Leclerc was an eye-opener.

While Hamilton was not too disheartened to qualify fifth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, just behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, the near one-second gap to poleman Charles Leclerc was an eye-opener.

Leclerc had previously set an identical Q3 time with rival Max Verstappen as both drivers notched a 1m40.445s, but it was the Red Bull racer who lapped first to provisionally hold the top spot.

It should look similar to the new E-Class sedan that debuted earlier this week.

The Ferrari driver secured his first pole of the year on his final effort of the session, a 1m40.203s, having ratcheted up his pace from a strong opening run in the last part of qualifying to prove unassailable for the two Red Bull drivers.

The Ferrari driver secured his first F1 pole of the year on his final effort of the session, a 1m40.203s, having ratcheted up his pace from a strong opening run in the last part of qualifying to prove unassailable for the two Red Bull drivers.

Leclerc will start ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in Sunday’s race after the one-hour qualifying session on Friday, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were looking to build on a strong performance last time out in Melbourne with a good qualifying in Baku, though Max Verstappen remained the favourite with Charles Leclerc the challenger

Hamilton's Mercedes contract expires at the end of the year but, with no sign of a renewal in sight right now, Damon Hill thinks Wolff must prioritise resolving the Brit's F1 future

Allison has just returned to the role of technical director at Mercedes after the German manufacturer swapped Mike Elliott across to take his previous position of chief technology officer.

Rob Bell has never raced on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, but the Eifel region still holds some special memories for the British sportscar ace. The Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit is often viewed as the poor relation to the 12.944-mile motor racing Mecca that countless drivers (including Yvan Muller) have cited as…