At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari set a blistering pace during the free practice sessions which Mercedes seemed unable to match. Therefore, Leclerc was considered as a strong favourite for pole. However, a big crash for Leclerc in Q2 saw him ruled out of contention and Mercedes took advantage of the situation. A drop in temperatures - due to a delay of the session from Kubica's and Leclerc's crashes at the castle section - and good tows during the final run in Q3 allowed Mercedes to grab an unlikely front-row lockout, their third of the season. Bottas claimed his second consecutive pole, edging out Hamilton by just 0.059s. On Sunday, Bottas was able to keep his lead at the start and went on to enjoy a lights-to-flag victory. Hamilton put him under pressure during the race but he was unable to make a move on the Finn. His P2 finish gave the team a fourth consecutive one-two of the season. Once again, Mercedes defeated Ferrari at a track where, up until Leclerc's crash in Q2, pole and victory for the Scuderia had seemed assured. Furthermore, the result gave Mercedes a new record for most one-two finishes at the start of a season, beating Williams’ record of three from 1992.