Azerbaijan GP: Verstappen on pole as Baku sets red flag record in disaster for Piastri, Ferrari

Max Verstappen will line up on pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Carlos Sainz, with championship leader Oscar Piastri down in ninth place after he brought out the last of qualifying’s red flags.

There were six red flags, three alone in Q1, breaking the record for the most red flags in a qualifying session that was previously held by Imola 2022 and matched in Sao Paulo in 2024.

Norris tops red-flagged blighted Q1

Ahead of a Q1, the drivers queued at the end of the pit lane to await the start in the hope of avoiding trouble behind them. Oscar Piastri wasn’t in the queue as McLaren worked on his MCL39, mechanics standing to bolt on a front wing.

Alex Albon posted the opening gambit, a 1:43.778, but three minutes later, he was flirting with the drop zone while Charles Leclerc was P1 ahead of Max Verstappen.

And then Albon hit the wall at Turn 1, clipping it with the front left and breaking his suspension. “I’m out, sorry,” he told Williams as the red flags were waved.

Heading back to the pits, Esteban Ocon reported a “branch on my rear, right corner”. Blustery conditions with trees lining sections of the track meant that it might not be the last time such a complaint would be heard. Kimi Antonelli was noted for a yellow flag infringement.

Back underway, Lewis Hamilton went quickest with Piastri just crossing the line when the red flag came out for Nico Hulkenberg. The Sauber driver whacked the Turn 4 wall, leaving debris behind on the track as he limped back to the pits.

Underway with six minutes on the clock, Lance Stroll, the Saubers and Kimi Antonelli were fighting to get out of the drop zone. Stroll and Antonelli were able to save themselves, but a late red in the dying seconds meant several drivers couldn’t complete their final lap.

While it initially appeared as if Pierre Gasly’s off at Turn 4 was the cause, moments later his teammate Franco Colapinto was spotted nose-first in the wall as he climbed out of his damaged A525.

The drivers eliminated were: Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly and Albon.

Lando Norris was fastest of all, 0.009s up on Verstappen with Leclerc third.

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Lewis Hamilton falls in Q2 at Baku

Q2 got off to a delayed start, the clock counting down at 3:48 pm local time – when Q3 was scheduled to begin. But it wasn’t long before the red flags were waved once more, and before any driver had even managed to set a time.

Oliver Bearman clattered into the barrier on the exit of Turn 2, breaking his Haas’ suspension. “Sorry guys, so stupid,” he lamented.

Back underway (again), Norris set the early pace with a 1:41.396 ahead of Verstappen and the Mercedes teammates. His McLaren teammate Piastri was only P5 after he tagged the wall with his rear right in a huge slide.

The Ferrari pair were in trouble, with Hamilton in 10th place and Leclerc P14 and without a lap time after running wide on his first attempt. Hamilton improved his time but remained P10 before falling to 12th as Leclerc went fourth.

The drivers eliminated were: Fernando Alonso, Hamilton, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Bearman.

Max Verstappen grabs pole for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

As if there hadn’t been enough drama already, Liam Lawson reported spots of rain as he exited the pit lane at the start of Q3. A moment from Russell at Turn 4 brought out the yellow flags with the Mercedes driver throwing his car into reverse as Norris came flying past.

“Definitely too slippery,” was the verdict from Verstappen as the rain came down a little harder. Carlos Sainz went quickest ahead of Lawson and Isack Hadjar.

Red flag number five for qualifying belonged to Leclerc, who binned his Ferrari at Turn 15, the Monegasque carrying too much speed to bury the nose in the barrier exiting the tricky downhill left-hander.

Sainz on provisional pole told Williams: “You can start dancing to see if it rains a little harder.”

Underway again after a fifth red flag, Verstappen and Sainz headed the queue with the Red Bull driver lining up on a set of used mediums. The McLarens both had new soft tyres, Piastri the last of the nine drivers to leave the pits.

And Piastri was the last of the drivers to cause a red flag, getting it wrong at Turn 3 and crashing into the wall. Red flag number six. Sainz remained on provisional pole.

The session restarted with 3:41 on the clock and Norris the first in the pit lane queue. He headed out on soft tyres, Verstappen also on the red Pirellis.

Norris on a flier tagged the wall, costing him tenths as his challenge for pole position fell short in second place. But as others improved their times, he dropped to seventh.

Verstappen claimed pole position by 0.478s ahead of Sainz with Lawson qualifying third.

Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix broke the previous red flag record held by Sao Paulo 2024 and Imola 2022 with six red flags in a qualifying session that lasted almost two hours.

Azerbaijan GP Qualifying result

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:41.117
2 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.478
3 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.590
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.600
5 George Russell Mercedes +0.953
6 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +1.026
7 Lando Norris McLaren +1.122
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1.255
9 Oscar Piastri McLaren no time
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari no time
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:41.857
12 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:42.183
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1:42.277
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:43.061
15 Oliver Bearman Haas no time
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:42.779
17 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:42.916
18 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:43.004
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine1:43.139
20 Alex Albon Williams 1:43.778

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