George Russell crucially claimed pole position in dominant Friday at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while his teammate and title leader, Kimi Antonelli, will start near the back of the grid after a disastrous qualifying performance.
Antonelli hit the wall at Turn 1 in Q1 and was knocked out of qualifying. Although his previous lap was still good enough to get him into Q2, he'll start Saturday's race in 16th.
The Italian called his crash a "very stupid" mistake but added that it's a "good way to come back to Earth."
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start alongside Russell on the front row, but his best time was still 0.837 seconds off the Mercedes driver. Russell's pole margin was the biggest in the circuit's history.
Isack Hadjar outqualified Max Verstappen in his first race back from a wrist injury. A yellow flag briefly hampered the Dutch driver during his final Q3 lap.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:42.526 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:43.363 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:43.364 |
| 4 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:43.500 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:43.672 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:43.858 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:44.047 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:44.081 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:44.566 |
| 10 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:44.963 |
| 11 | Ollie Bearman | Haas | Q2 |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | Q2 |
| 13 | Alex Albon | Williams | Q2 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | Q2 |
| 15 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | Q2 |
| 16 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Q2 |
| 17 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | Q1 |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | Q1 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | Q1 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | Q1 |
| 21 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Q1 |
| 22 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | Q1 |
Williams secured its first Q3 appearance of the season after Carlos Sainz qualified ninth. The British team brought a significant upgrade package to Azerbaijan.
Audi also brought its largest upgrade package of the season to Baku, but it failed to deliver immediate returns, as Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg were eliminated in Q1.
Baku has been a circuit of horrors for championship leaders recently. Antonelli will look to avoid the fate of Oscar Piastri, who crashed in Q3 at the circuit last year before finding the wall on Lap 1 of the race.
Russell, who has a career-high five poles this season, trails Antonelli by 81 points in the standings.
