BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes two key factors helped his drivers achieve a surprise result and beat Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to the front row of the grid at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Prior to Saturday's qualifying, Ferrari had dominated all three practice sessions and appeared to have a pace advantage on the straights and in the corners at the Baku City Circuit. However, the Italian team's chances were slashed when Charles Leclerc crashed into the barriers in Q2 and then faded completely when Sebastian Vettel was 0.3s slower than the two Mercedes in Q3.
Wolff believes his team's advantage was partly down to the slipstream the Mercedes drivers were able to get on Baku's 2km back straight and partly down to the way the car managed its tyres.