Russell charges to pole as Antonelli exits Baku Qualifying

George Russell took pole position for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, securing his fifth pole of the season with a lap time of 1m 42.526s, beating Charles Leclerc by eight tenths of a second and Oscar Piastri by eight tenths and 0.001s respectively. Mercedes were left with only Russell after teammate Kimi Antonelli crashed out in Q1. Lando Norris finished fifth after a lock-up on his final lap, while Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen starting eighth.