Russell takes Baku pole as Verstappen qualifies eighth

George Russell took pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday, 25 September 2026, with a lap of 1:42.526. Charles Leclerc qualified second, 0.837 seconds behind the Mercedes driver, with Oscar Piastri just a thousandth further back in third. Isack Hadjar was fourth.

Max Verstappen qualified eighth, 1.555 seconds off Russell’s pace, after leading final practice earlier in the day. His practice lap of 1:43.922 had put him 0.099 seconds ahead of Russell.

Russell estimated that a slipstream from Hadjar had helped his pole lap by another tenth or two down the back straight. Speaking in the post-qualifying interview published by the FIA, he said Mercedes were well placed to challenge for victory, while warning that anything could happen in Baku.

His team-mate Kimi Antonelli qualified 16th after hitting the wall in Q1. Antonelli’s earlier time was enough to advance to Q2, but the damage prevented him from continuing and he recorded no time in that session.

Verstappen blames worsening engine problem

Speaking to Autosport and other Dutch media, Verstappen said the initial fault was with the internal combustion engine, rather than energy deployment. He said it deteriorated through qualifying and caused the battery to stop charging on his second Q3 lap.

Verstappen also described losing tyre temperature after aborting a lap, then encountering a yellow flag on his final attempt.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the worsening power-unit problem had reduced straight-line speed and made energy deployment and tyre-temperature management more difficult. In comments published by Verstappen.com, he said the team would replace the defective components that evening.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled for Saturday, 26 September, at 15:00 local time (11:00 UTC), over 51 laps.