George Russell dominated qualifying for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku by securing his fifth pole position of the season with a time of 1m42.526s.
The Mercedes driver edged out Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), with Piastri trailing the Monegasque by just 0.001 seconds.
Kimi Antonelli, Russell’s teammate, was eliminated in Q1 after a crash at the first corner, leaving Russell as Mercedes’ sole representative in Q3.
Other front-runners included Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Lando Norris (McLaren), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz (Williams), the latter benefiting from recent team upgrades.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) will receive grid penalties for engine changes and will start from the back, benefiting Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), who will start 19th and 20th respectively.
