George Russell secured his fifth pole position of the 2026 season in a closely contested qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli suffered a surprise Q1 exit after crashing.

Oscar Piastri missed out on the front row by just 0.001 seconds, finishing third behind Russell and Charles Leclerc. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar qualified fourth, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who lost time on his final attempt after locking up, The Caspian Post reports.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton took sixth, followed by Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen and Williams’ Carlos Sainz. Sainz made the most of Williams’ extensive upgrade package, while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto completed the top 10 after struggling to produce a representative lap.

Haas driver Ollie Bearman narrowly failed to reach Q3 and will start 11th, ahead of Liam Lawson and Alex Albon. The Williams driver was visibly frustrated after his team-mate did not provide him with a tow.

Esteban Ocon qualified 14th, ahead of Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, whose session was hampered by several mistakes. Antonelli’s qualifying ended when he hit the wall at Turn 1, leaving him 16th and well behind the leading drivers.

Both Audi cars were eliminated in Q1 despite the team bringing major upgrades to the Baku City Circuit. Gabriel Bortoleto led the pair in 17th, with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying 18th.

Fernando Alonso followed in 19th after a major lock-up forced him onto the run-off area. However, a substantial grid penalty for installing new power unit components will drop Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll to the back row for the race.

As a result, Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, a former Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner, and Valtteri Bottas will be promoted to 19th and 20th on Sunday’s starting grid, with the two Aston Martin cars occupying the final positions.