Max Verstappen clinched pole position for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix and Fernando Alonso secured an unlikely spot on the front row in Montreal.
Alonso, who set the pace in the final practice session, claimed second place in tricky, wet conditions in Saturday's qualifying session.
That hands the 40-year-old Spaniard his first front-row start in Formula One since he won from pole position at the German Grand Prix just under 10 years ago.
The two-time world champion, racing for Alpine, was the recipient of a huge ovation from the crowd as he celebrated his supreme qualifying performance, clocking up a time of 1:21.944 behind championship leader Verstappen's 1:21.299.
"It feels great. It was an unbelievable weekend for us so far, we’ve been competitive in free practice – which we normally are on Friday but on Saturday we seem to lose a little bit of pace – but in wet conditions today the car was mega, I was so comfortable driving this car and I think the fans gave me a push," a jubilant Alonso said.
When asked what his approach will be on Sunday, Alonso quipped: "Let's see, I think I will attack Max on the first corner."
Verstappen's pole ended the day on a high note for Red Bull, with team-mate and fellow title contender Sergio Perez set to start in 13th place after crashing out in Q2.
In difficult conditions, the reigning world champion – who will be further buoyed by title rival Charles Leclerc having to start at the back on Sunday due to Ferrari changing his entire power unit – was delighted with the composure shown by his team.
"Of course I still expect it not to be a straightforward race, today with tricky conditions, we stayed calm and we made the right calls in Q3 so of course, super happy with that to get pole position here and to be back in Montreal and great to see all the fans," he said.
"You really get that go-karting sensation back on this track with proper curves. We always enjoy driving here and I’m looking forward to tomorrow."
Carlos Sainz looked poised to push Verstappen, but a mistake on the final corner cost the Ferrari driver, who will start third on the grid. An incident involving the Spaniard and Esteban Ocon was investigated, but the stewards decided no further action was required.
Sainz said: "I was feeling quite okay with the car, especially in the full wet. In that lap I knew I had lost a bit too much, I tried to do a very quick last corner but it didn't pay off and it cost me half a second. I ended up with three for that mistake. I think it's going to be a good fight with Max up front and Fernando has been fast all weekend."
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton – who did not hide his frustration with his car after struggling in practice on Friday – was lifted by claiming fourth.
Mercedes team-mate George Russell had to settle for eighth, however, after a decision to go on slicks in Q3 failed to pay off.
Verstappen laments Red Bull changes that 'made the car worse' in Baku
Max Verstappen was left frustrated in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, saying that the changes made by Red Bull had "made the car worse".
Verstappen could only manage sixth place for Sunday's race, while he was outqualified by team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished fourth, for the first time this season.
The three-time world champion has made his feelings clear about the team's performance of late, citing balance issues as a main cause of concern.
The team seemingly took a step forward in their performance following an imperfect weekend in Monza, with Perez finishing just 0.006s behind pole-sitter Charles Leclerc in FP2.
However, their improvements appeared to diminish in qualifying around Baku, with both drivers unable to stop Leclerc from taking his fourth pole position in Baku.
Verstappen has now gone six Grands Prix without a pole, his worst streak since 2021, and detailed the reasons for their slight downturn in performance.
"From the first lap that I did in qualifying I was not happy with the car, and I just tried to drive around it," Verstappen said.
"When you're not confident and comfortable with the car on a street circuit, you cannot push to the limit and I think basically that's what happened.
"As soon as it matters, people start risking more.
"I just didn't feel comfortable to attack because the car was just very difficult, jumping a lot, losing contact with the tarmac, so not very nice.
"Of course, I went off in the last corner, which also didn't help, so all in all quite disappointing.”
The Dutchman's team-mate was similarly disheartened despite producing his best qualifying performance since the Belgian Grand Prix.
Perez has historically flourished in Baku and is the only driver on the grid who has won multiple times at this circuit.
While the Mexican has the opportunity to add to the 100 points he has already accumulated in Azerbaijan, he acknowledged the enormity of the task of toppling the two Ferraris.
"First of all, I'm a bit disappointed because I felt like P2 on a perfect lap should have been possible," Perez explained.
"I had a scrappy sector two where I probably missed a tenth, a tenth and a half. It's probably the same for everyone though.
"Ferrari were in another league, but I think a further lap would’ve been good. We'll see tomorrow.
"We are very different to everyone else, so we'll see what we are able to do come tomorrow and see what we are able to achieve.
"I think definitely on the first stint I should be strong.
"It will be down to the amount of progress I’m able to make, and then from then on just head down, and hopefully we are able to be as strong in the race.
"That will be very important.”
Gasly disqualified from Azerbaijan GP qualifying over fuel breach
Pierre Gasly has been disqualified from the results of qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as stewards deemed his Alpine car over the fuel flow limit.
Gasly was eliminated in the second qualifying session, after posting a time which was good enough for 13th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.
However, shortly after the session's end, stewards summoned Alpine and Gasly over a possible breach of Article 5.2.3 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which covers fuel mass flow.
This punishment means Gasly will start Sunday's race at the back of the grid alongside Sauber's Zhou Guanyou, who also suffered a penalty this weekend, as the Chinese driver had exceeded the allowance of power unit components.
Gasly's teammate, Esteban Ocon, will start the race just ahead of both in 18th, with the opportunity of Alpine gaining points in Baku this weekend looking very slim.
This is the fourth time a driver has been disqualified from qualifying results in 2024, with Gasly following Willliams' Alex Albon and the Haas duo of Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
Leclerc continues Baku love affair as Norris' title hopes dented
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole-sitter for the fourth year in a row after a stunning showing on the streets of Baku.
Leclerc, who emerged victorious in Monza last time out, is in a good position to close the gap to both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.
Norris will need an unlikely turn of events to close his 62-point gap to the Dutchman as he encountered yellow flags on his final lap in the first session and will start Sunday's race in 17th.
Verstappen, meanwhile, will start in sixth after being outqualified by team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished fourth, with Mercedes' George Russell sandwiched in between.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso came next, with Williams producing an excellent display with drives from Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon to complete the top 10.
Leclerc's performance saw him record the best pole streak for a Ferrari driver in a Grand Prix since Michael Schumacher in Spain from 2000 to 2004 (five).
Speaking after qualifying, the Monegasque was confident about his chances of becoming the first driver since Felipe Massa to achieve consecutive victories on at least two occasions.
“It’s one of my favourite tracks of the season, I really like it, it hasn’t been an easy weekend because of the crash in FP1," Leclerc said.
"It didn’t make me lose confidence as I knew that the pace was there, but you’ve got to be back up to speed.
“In Q3 and qualifying it was all about trying to stay as far as possible from the walls and on the last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely.
“The car felt really good and everything felt great, so it’s amazing to be on pole."
Norris was on course to make it through into the second session comfortably but a yellow flag as he approached the final straight saw his flying lap ruined.
“The lap was easily good enough, but there was a yellow flag so I had to back off," Norris said.
“Following is pretty much impossible around here and overtaking is a lot worse than everyone thinks.
“I am not expecting much from 17th, but we will put in a good plan tonight and do our best of course.
"I have been wrong, and I hope there are plenty of chances, but I’m not expecting so.”
But when asked, McLaren team-mate Piastri was confident that the team have the pace to score some big points in the race for the constructors' championship.
"I think from where we are starting, yes," Piastri said.
But following around here is really tough, we saw yesterday, it was pretty tough once you get behind someone, hopefully get some clean air, which will be good.
"We'll see what we can do. I think our race pace is good, but again, the Ferraris are certainly not slow.
Qualifying results
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
10. Alex Albon (Williams)
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