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Russell charges to pole as Antonelli exits Baku Qualifying
George Russell soared around the streets of Baku to take pole position over Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
George Russell clinched his fifth pole position of the 2026 season in a remarkably competitive Qualifying hour for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the Briton finding himself as the lone Mercedes driver after Kimi Antonelli crashed out of Q1.
It looked like four teams would be in contention for the top spot, but Russell improved with every lap in Q3 to establish a dramatic advantage of eight tenths over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, ending the session with a time of 1m 42.526s.
Oscar Piastri was just 0.001s off the Monegasque in third place, leading Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and the second McLaren of Lando Norris, who suffered a lock-up on his final lap that prevented him from finding more time.
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Kimi Antonelli hits wall as George Russell takes F1 Azerbaijan GP pole
For all his youth, such has been Kimi Antonelli’s consummate control this season he has barely put a foot wrong. In qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix however he was given a salutary reminder that the full-on commitment that makes him so engrossing to watch can still bite.
The F1 championship leader was disconsolate at being eliminated after hitting the wall in the first session but with his Mercedes teammate George Russell on pole it has set up a potentially fascinating showdown for Saturday’s race.
Antonelli’s error was uncharacteristic and, he conceded, unnecessary. He knows his lead in the championship – 81 points over Russell – is such that he need take no chances, especially at a track where Mercedes enjoy such a huge advantage over their rivals. Russell’s pole, an immense lap of the street circuit in Baku, was eight-tenths clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in second, the largest margin to pole of the season.
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