George Russell Takes Dominant Pole in Baku

Mercedes’ George Russell went unchallenged in Baku on Friday (Sept. 25), topping all three qualifying sessions and smoking the field in Q3 to take pole for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Russell will be seeking his first win since the Austrian GP on June 28 as he seeks to somehow chip away at teammate Kimi Antonelli‘s huge championship lead.

Antonelli literally nailed the exit to turn 1 in Q1 and the resulting damage ended his qualifying effort. The points leader, who leads his teammate Russell by 81 points, will start 16th.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second, over eight tenths behind Russell’s time. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was third and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar took fourth after missing the last three races with a wrist injury.

Lando Norris will start fifth on the grid, alongside Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in sixth.

Q3

Russell was again quick early with a 1:43.037 to lead the session. His closest pursuer with three minutes left in the session was Leclerc, over four tenths back.

Russell improved to 1:42.526 on his final run, a time which no one could touch. Leclerc finished second, eight tenths back.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Leader
1.	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:42.526m
2.	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.837s
3.	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.838s
4.	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+0.974s
5.	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.146s
6.	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+1.332s
7.	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.521
8.	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+1.555s
9.	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.040s
10.	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+2.437s

Q2

Russell, eyeing a huge opportunity after Antonelli’s exit, posted an early 1:43.686  that held up for the duration of Q2 until he improved it to a 1:43.462 on his final run. Verstappen was in second, just two-hundredths back of Russell.

Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto grabbed the final two tickets to Q3 in 9th and 10th, respectively. 

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Advancing
11.	10	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+.988s
12.	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+.999s
13.	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+1.169s
14.	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+1.554s
15.	27	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.644s
16.	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	no time

Q1

Russell topped the session with a late 1:43.615 lap around Baku’s narrow street circuit, topping Verstappen by over .4 seconds.

Championship implications arose midway through the session when Antonelli tagged the turn 1 wall and suffered a punctured left-front tire and suspension damage. The championship leader couldn’t make it back to the pits, ending his qualifying effort and relegating him to a start at the back of the grid.

⏪ Rewind to Antonelli's moment at Turn 1 that ended his qualifying#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/3Nee1nEO7D

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 25, 2026

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Advancing
17.	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+2.184s
18.	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+2.305s
19.	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.978s
20.	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+3.043s
21.	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.722s
22.	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+4.675s

F1 Qualifying Results Azerbaijan

The F1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix will begin on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7 a.m. ET. Television coverage in the United States will be provided by Apple TV+.