Qualifying for round 15 of the 2026 F1 season at the Azerbaijan GP has been completed, view the full report here.
Although Max Verstappen was fastest in FP3, George Russell looked to be favourite for pole heading into qualifying as the Brit has been rapid all weekend. Kimi Antonelli looked a step behind in both in FP2 and FP3. Ferrari, McLaren, Hadjar and the Alpines looked to be the other cars who would make Q3 on the evidence of final practice. Carlos Sainz was also strong as he looked to get Williams into or close to Q3.
Q1
In the opening five minutes, Lance Stroll had an outside front left lock-up and went straight at turn 7.
Franco Colapinto led early doors, logging a 1:45.768 to outpace Bortoleto by 0.3s. However, Isack Hadjar soon demolished that as he clocked a 1:44.702 to go fastest, 0.155s faster than Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver had a great tow at the end of the lap.
Piastri, Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, Colapinto, Norris, Russell and Sainz completed the top 10 with nine minutes left.
Antonelli crashes out of 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
At turn 1, championship leader Kimi Antonelli clouted the inside wall, breaking his left front suspension. He parked it in the turn 7 run-off and was out of qualifying, even if he made it to Q2. He eventually ended up in 15th.
Alex Albon lost his first lap for track limits at turn 16.
With three minutes remaining, Bearman, Hülkenberg, Alonso, Pérez, Bottas and Stroll found themselves in the relegation zone.
Despite big struggles in turn 16 and complaints about a broken car, Lando Norris pulled out a lap to move up to 6th at that point.
George Russell clocked a 1:43.615 to end up fastest by 0.4s from Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar completing the top 3. The Ferraris, Gasly and McLarens followed them.
Williams and Haas both had great Q1s as all four drivers made it through. Alex Albon led the way in 9th. Racing Bulls continued to struggle but Lindblad and Lawson advanced in P14 and P16.
Audi had a very disappointing session as Bortoleto and Hülkenberg got knocked out in Q1. Alonso, Pérez, Bottas and Stroll also got bumped, unsurprisingly.
Q2
On the first runs, George Russell smashed in a 1:43.686 to be fastest, 0.149s ahead of Charles Leclerc. McLaren started to look more competitive as Norris and Piastri were 0.3s away. Hadjar and Verstappen followed, with the Williams pair and Ocon completing the top 10. The Alpine duo had not done a lap to that point.
Getting a lovely slipstream from his teammate, Pierre Gasly posted the fastest final sector to go 7th, with the Argentinian driver only P11 with two minutes left.
A 1:43.462 from George Russell put the Mercedes driver on top by 0.244s from Max Verstappen at the end of Qualifying 2 at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP. Leclerc, Piastri and Hadjar were covered by less than a tenth in P3-P5. Norris, Hamilton and Gasly also comfortably advanced.
Following a big reduction in weight for the FW48, Carlos Sainz delivered a fine lap to end up 9th and get into Q3 for the first time this year. Right at the death, Franco Colapinto joined him as the Alpine driver produced a good lap himself to advance.
Ollie Bearman missed out by less than a tenth as Haas had a better session. Lawson, Albon, Ocon, Lindblad and Antonelli completed the Q2 exits.
Q3
George Russell went first, clocking a 1:43.713 early on. However, the McLarens came into it. Lando Norris initially went 0.041s faster, before Oscar Piastri smashed in a 1:43.571 to go on pole by 0.101s. Verstappen and Sainz were the only other drivers to set a competitive time with five minutes to go.
However, the driver of car #63 absolutely destroyed the field on his next attempt, logging a 1:43.037 to put 0.435s into Charles Leclerc. The McLarens, Hadjar, Gasly, Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz and Colapinto completed the order before the last attempts.
At turn 15, Franco Colapinto had a big lock-up and had to take to the run-off, causing a brief yellow flag. On the run to turn 3, Lando Norris had a massive lock-up and also needed to use the run-off. His session was done.
Following a dominant qualifying at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, a stunning 1:42.526 from George Russell saw the Brit take pole position by 0.837s, with Oscar Piastri a thousandth slower than the Ferrari.
Hadjar, Norris, Hamilton, Gasly, Verstappen, Sainz and Colapinto completed the top 10 for Saturday’s race.
