George Russell claimed his fifth pole position of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, posting a 1:42.526s lap to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.837 seconds — while Mercedes teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashed out in Q1 and will start the race from 16th.
What began as a four-team contest between Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull became a one-man show in Q3 as Russell found significant time on each of his final two runs. Leclerc qualified second, separated from Oscar Piastri’s McLaren by just 0.001 seconds in third. Isack Hadjar was fourth for Red Bull on his return to competition, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto in tenth.
Antonelli’s session ended abruptly when the Italian lost control at Turn 1 in Q1 and struck the wall, damaging his Mercedes. He attempted to return to the pits but was instructed to stop in a safe position. Race engineer Pete Bonnington confirmed the suspension could not be repaired in time, ending Antonelli’s qualifying run and leaving Russell to carry the team’s challenge alone.
Russell was not without his own difficulties early in the session, reporting front locking, while Verstappen complained his Red Bull was “bottoming like crazy” and that he was struggling to brake. Despite those concerns, Russell responded to pressure from McLaren in Q3 — Piastri had moved provisionally ahead with a 1:43.571s on the opening runs — by posting a 1:43.037s on his second attempt before finding another five tenths on his final lap to set the decisive time.
“It’s been a while, so it definitely feels good,” Russell said. “It’s probably the biggest margin of my whole career, even including F2, F3 days, so the lap felt really sweet. The car’s been feeling great this weekend, and on a track like this, when you can hook it up like that, it feels really amazing.”
Verstappen could manage only eighth after encountering a yellow flag on his final Q3 run. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll face grid penalties for power unit component changes, promoting the two Cadillac entries of Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas to 19th and 20th on the grid.