Russell Takes Pole in Baku and Antonelli Is Out

George Russell crowned a perfect Friday in Baku and secured pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver, who had dominated Thursday's two sessions and had finished second in FP3 behind Max Verstappen, once again showed his strength at the urban circuit to take the top spot in qualifying. Charles Leclerc will start second and Oscar Piastri third, while Kimi Antonelli, championship leader, was eliminated in Q1 after hitting the wall.

Qualifying began five minutes later than scheduled due to the cleaning work needed after the Formula 2 race. Once the circuit was back in condition, the cars went out onto a track in which the wind once again became one of the main protagonists. The gusts especially complicated the behavior of the cars in the fast zones and caused several drivers to suffer sudden losses of stability at the rear.

Mercedes arrived at qualifying as one of the big favorites after having set the pace during Thursday. Russell had been first in FP1 and FP2, with a 1:43.347 in the second session, while Antonelli had finished second. However, the Italian's situation changed completely in a matter of minutes.

Antonelli lost control of his Mercedes and hit the barriers, damaging the front suspension. The crash put an end to his qualifying when Q1 was barely beginning and will force the championship leader to start from sixteenth position. The result represents a hard blow for Mercedes, especially after a weekend in which the team had demonstrated having enough speed to fight for the top positions.

Antonelli's crash also once again highlighted a characteristic that Baku had shown during practice: the margin for error is minimal. During FP2, Arvid Lindblad had starred in a heavy crash at turn 8, the castle zone, which caused the first red flag of the weekend. Verstappen had also passed within a few centimeters of another car and Lance Stroll had had a small contact with the wall. In FP3, the Dutchman himself once again grazed the barriers and ended up leading the session.

Q1 also left an incident between Sergio Pérez and Oscar Piastri, although neither of the two was directly eliminated because of that situation. The other protagonist of the session was Lando Norris, who once again had difficulties with his McLaren. The team detected a problem with the car, but could not fully identify it during the session, one more complication for a team that had already had an irregular Thursday.

The first part of qualifying ended with the elimination of Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas. For Aston Martin it was a particularly difficult session, with both of its cars out before Q2.

The second part of qualifying began once again with a scare. Arvid Lindblad went wide practically from the start of Q2 and had to use the escape road. The Racing Bulls driver managed to avoid the wall and continue in competition, although the situation once again showed how easy it is to lose control on a circuit where the barriers are permanently close.

The wind once again played a fundamental role. The gusts modified the behavior of the car from one corner to another and several drivers had difficulties keeping the rear stable. In Baku, where the high-speed zones quickly lead into heavy braking and narrow sectors, a small loss of stability can be enough to compromise an entire lap.

One of the big results of Q2 was Carlos Sainz's return to Q3. The Spaniard managed to advance among the top ten after a complicated start to the weekend for Williams, which had suffered problems during practice. His teammate Alex Albon, on the other hand, could not overcome the second session.

Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Lindblad were also eliminated, in addition to the already eliminated Antonelli. The absence of the championship leader in the decisive phase left an opportunity open for his main rivals.

With all this panorama Russell did not waste it. The Mercedes driver arrived at Q3 with the possibility of transforming his dominance in practice into pole position. The last session had several drivers separated by very small differences and, on a circuit like Baku, every detail could make the difference. Russell managed to complete a clean lap and once again demonstrated that Mercedes had found an especially competitive setup for the layout.

Charles Leclerc finished second and once again confirmed his special relationship with Baku. The Ferrari driver has historically been one of the big protagonists of the circuit and his performance in qualifying once again places him in a privileged position for the race. The Monegasque has achieved several poles in the streets of the Azerbaijani capital over the last few years, although converting that one-lap performance into a victory has been a much more complicated task.

Oscar Piastri completed the top three. The Australian, winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2024, once again starts from a competitive position at one of the circuits where he already achieved one of his most important triumphs. His presence on the front row also represents an opportunity for McLaren after a complicated weekend for the team. Norris, meanwhile, could not close qualifying the way he needed. The Briton arrived at the last opportunity of Q3 looking to improve his position, but could not complete his fast lap. After the problems that McLaren dragged from Thursday and the difficulties that the team had shown in finding consistent functioning, the result leaves the reigning champion with a complicated situation for the race.

Qualifying also leaves an unexpected situation for the championship. Antonelli, who arrived in Baku with an 81-point advantage over Russell and after winning the two previous races in Monza and Madrid, will have to come back from sixteenth position. Russell, on the other hand, will start from the best possible place and will have an opportunity to reduce part of the difference between the two.

Russell's pole also confirms the great performance that Mercedes had shown since the beginning of the weekend. The Briton was first in FP1, first in FP2, second in FP3 and finally first in qualifying. Verstappen had been the one who broke Mercedes' dominance in the third practice, but Red Bull could not convert that rhythm into the first position on the grid.

Now everything is ready for the race. And, as happens during this Grand Prix, it will have to be done a day earlier than usual. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held this Saturday, September 26, due to the special calendar established to respect Azerbaijan's Remembrance Day on Sunday.

Russell will start from pole, Leclerc and Piastri will accompany him in the first positions and Verstappen will seek to take advantage of any opportunity from the front positions. But the big unknown will be behind: Antonelli will have to make his way from sixteenth position on a circuit where overtaking is possible thanks to the enormous main straight, although any mistake can end against the wall.

Baku already made its first selection. Tomorrow will be the time to check who manages to survive its 51 laps.