Russell storms to dominant pole in Baku as championship leader Antonelli crashes out in qualifying
George Russell (Mercedes) claimed his fifth pole position of the season in Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying, while his teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashed out in Q1 and will start only 16th.
Russell dominates in Baku
George Russell secured a commanding pole position for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, setting a time of 1:42.526 and topping all three qualifying segments. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took second place, with Russell's advantage described by Formula1.com as roughly eight tenths of a second, while the BBC gives a more precise figure of 0.837 seconds. Speaking afterwards, Russell said it was probably the biggest margin of his career and that the car had felt great throughout the weekend.
Antonelli's Q1 exit
Russell's Mercedes teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli saw his qualifying end in the very first segment. On his second timed lap, the Italian turned into Turn One too early and clipped the inside wall with his front-left wheel, breaking the suspension. According to the BBC, Antonelli asked race engineer Peter Bonnington for a chance to drive the car back to the pits, but was told the damage — either to the track rod or the upright — could not be repaired in the time available. As a result, Antonelli, who the BBC notes leads the championship by 81 points, will start Sunday's race from 16th on the grid.
The rest of the field
McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished third, just 0.001 seconds behind Leclerc, ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and the second McLaren of Lando Norris, who locked up on his final lap and lost the chance to improve. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was sixth after running without a slipstream tow. Max Verstappen failed to benefit from a tow behind Norris after the Briton's mistake, leaving the Red Bull driver eighth behind Pierre Gasly's Alpine. Williams' Carlos Sainz, driving a newly introduced chassis, achieved the team's first top-10 qualifying result of the season — as reported by the BBC — finishing ninth ahead of Alpine's Franco Colapinto in tenth. Both Audi drivers, Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg, were eliminated in Q1, while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso suffered a major lock-up and, along with teammate Lance Stroll, will start from the back of the grid due to a penalty for new power unit components.
