George Russell/Mercedes stunned after Baku pole: “That’s never happened before!”

Final practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Mercedes driver George Russell has secured the twelfth pole position of his Formula 1 career (equalling the tally of Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard), his fifth this season (following Australia, Canada, Barcelona and Austria) and his first at the Baku City Circuit. For his Mercedes team, it is the eleventh pole of the 2026 Grand Prix season, the 154th overall and the third in Baku (following 2017 and 2019).

Good news for Russell: title rival and championship leader Kimi Antonelli made a mistake and will have to start from the middle of the field.

Russell reflects on his qualifying session: “It’s been a while since I managed to secure pole position, so I’m very happy. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a big lead over the second-fastest driver, not even back in my Formula 3 or Formula 2 days.”

“The car has felt great all weekend, and when you manage a lap like that, it’s extra sweet. I felt very confident, even at times when I wasn’t in the lead. I always felt I could still fight back. In the end, it was a perfect lap, with a slipstream from Hadjar.”

“Max Verstappen was strong all weekend; I don’t know what happened to him at the end. Actually, I was expecting him to turn up at the front again.”

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Baku: Das Rennen

FIA Formula One World Championship

26.09.2026 - 11:00

“As far as the race is concerned, the starting position is right. But this is Baku, and everyone knows what can happen here.”

How the final practice session went

Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix got under way in pleasant weather (25 degrees, track temperature 40.7 degrees). Qualifying started four minutes late because the track had to be cleaned again following a turbulent Formula 2 race and due to the strong wind. In some places, there were not only carbon fibre shards on the track, but even whole branches.

The gusty wind was coming from the Caspian Sea (i.e. from the right in the direction of travel during the long full-throttle section back to the start-finish line); we’d already seen numerous drivers over-braking during the third practice session among the 22 competitors.

The first standout performance came from Red Bull Racing returnee Isack Hadjar: faster than Max Verstappen. Then Hamilton slotted in between the two RBR race cars. George Russell complained about front tyres that were prone to locking up.

Verstappen reported over the radio: “The car is diving too much at the front; I can hardly brake properly.”

There were also concerns for Kimi Antonelli after ten minutes: “Ah, blimey, I’ve touched the wall.” The front-left tyre had come off the rim; apparently, the track rod had also taken a knock. Championship leader Antonelli was instructed to pull the car over to the side; the Bolognese driver nevertheless tried to get the Mercedes back to the pits, but then gave up – out.

The replay showed: he’d hit the inside of Turn 1 on the left; the impact was quite severe. Kimi on the radio: “I’m so sorry, lads.” That’ll probably be 16th on the grid for the Italian.

Another cause for concern: champion Lando Norris. “I saw sparks flying from the front left – something’s not right with the car.” The McLaren mechanics took a look at the front part of the underbody.

Amidst all the commotion, it was almost forgotten that Verstappen was ahead of Hadjar, followed by Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc and Norris. Then Russell moved back up to P1.

As Q1 drew to a close, the following drivers were eliminated early: Bortoleto and Hülkenberg (and that with the big Audi update – ouch!), Alonso, Pérez, Bottas and Stroll. Hülki had a lot of bad luck on his final attempt because yellow flags were waved following Alonso’s mistake.

Top ten: Russell, Verstappen, Hadjar, Hamilton, Leclerc, Gasly, Norris, Piastri, Albon and Ocon.

In the second qualifying segment, Isack Hadjar reported that the wind had become even stronger. The Parisian, however, remained in good form: a fraction faster than Verstappen and thus the leader for the time being.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, McLaren: Norris ahead of Piastri, followed shortly afterwards by Baku specialist Leclerc in the lead. But not for long, as George Russell then took P1.

Max Verstappen made a fresh attempt but could only manage P7, whilst Hadjar shone in third place.

Ferrari ace Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the first section of the track, but lost time in the second, and on the long way back to the start-finish line, the Brit ran out of juice.

Would Max Verstappen still have something left in the tank? Yes, he surged up to P2, just two hundredths behind leader Russell! At the same time, Hadjar overbraked in the second section of the track.

Out after Q2: Bearman, Lawson, Albon, Ocon, Lindblad and Antonelli, who was unable to continue after his crash.

In the top ten and therefore through to Q3: Russell (who had improved his time once again), Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Hadjar, Norris, Hamilton, Gasly, Sainz (in the top ten in qualifying for the first time in 2026) and Colapinto.

In the battle for pole position in Q3, the McLarens took the lead: Piastri ahead of Norris, then Russell and Verstappen.

Hadjar moved up to P3, then Russell was back on top. Where on earth was Ferrari? Leclerc suddenly in P2 behind Russell, but Hamilton only in P7, a second slower than Leclerc. Verstappen was suddenly down to eighth.

Russell stepped it up again – a really strong performance. Piastri moved up to P3 behind Russell and Leclerc.