George Russell delivered a dominant performance to secure pole position for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while his Mercedes teammate and title rival Andrea Kimi Antonelli suffered a disastrous early exit after crashing in Q1.
The 28-year-old Briton set two laps good enough for pole and was untouchable, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by a massive 0.837 seconds—the largest qualifying margin of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Russell topped two of the three practice sessions and set the pace in each of the three qualifying segments in Baku, securing his fifth pole of the year and first since the Austrian Grand Prix.
Runaway championship leader Antonelli endured a qualifying nightmare after making a rare mistake and crashing on his second push lap in Q1. The 20-year-old Italian clobbered the inside wall at Turn 1, heavily damaging the front-left of his Mercedes. He desperately tried to limp back to the pits but was told to park up and had to admit defeat. His first lap was good enough for Q2, but he could take no further part, leaving him 16th on the grid for Saturday’s race.
Oscar Piastri of McLaren was also eight tenths off Russell’s electrifying lap, taking third, ahead of Isack Hadjar who was fourth on his Red Bull return after recovering from a wrist injury that sidelined him for the last three races. Reigning world champion Lando Norris was fifth fastest after a lock-up ruined his final flying lap, while Lewis Hamilton could only manage sixth, 1.332s off the pace, despite providing a useful tow for Leclerc.
Pierre Gasly was a strong seventh for Alpine, ahead of four-time world champion Max Verstappen, whose final lap was ruined by yellow flags as Norris went off track ahead of him. Carlos Sainz claimed a brilliant ninth as a major upgrade helped Williams secure its first Q3 appearance of the season, while Franco Colapinto completed the top 10 in his Alpine.
Ollie Bearman narrowly missed out on Q3 for Haas, settling for 11th, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Alex Albon, who rued having no tow as he failed to join his Williams teammate in the top-10 shootout. Esteban Ocon, who appears set to lose his Haas seat at the end of the season, was 14th fastest, ahead of the second Racing Bulls of F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad, and Antonelli who did not set a time after his crash.
Despite deploying an extensive upgrade in Baku, Audi suffered a disappointing double Q1 elimination with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg out in 17th and 18th. Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin 19th as he out-qualified two-time Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner Sergio Perez, who is running Ferrari’s ADUO 2 engine in the back of his Cadillac. Lance Stroll was 21st in the second Aston Martin after not setting a time.
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