Championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Max Verstappen claimed pole in a chaotic session.
In an extraordinary qualifying which featured a record total of six red flags and lasted almost two hours, Verstappen clinched a sixth pole of the season by delivering a flawless lap at the end.
Piastri, who leads McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 31 points with eight rounds remaining, smashed into the wall in the final stages of Q3 and will start lower than fourth for the first time this season.
That opened the door to Norris but he too clipped the wall on his final run, which was only good enough to put him seventh on the grid – two places above his team-mate. Williams’ Carlos Sainz capitalised on the chaos to qualify second, ahead of Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli.
What is the starting grid?
1. Max Verstappen
2. Carlos Sainz
3. Liam Lawson
4. Kimi Antonelli
5. George Russell
6. Yuki Tsunoda
7. Lando Norris
8. Isack Hadjar
9. Oscar Piastri
10. Charles Leclerc
11. Fernando Alonso
12. Lewis Hamilton
13. Gabriel Bortoleto
14. Lance Stroll
15. Ollie Bearman
16. Franco Colapinto
17. Nico Hulkenberg
18. Esteban Ocon
19. Pierre Gasly
20. Alex Albon
When is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
All times BST
Sunday 21 September
- Race: Midday
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 10:30am (BST).
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action in Baku on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the Azerbaijan Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help.
F1 driver standings
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 324 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 293 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 230 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 194 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 163 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 117 points
7. Alex Albon (Williams) – 70 points
8. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 66 points
9. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 38 points
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points
11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32 points
12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 30 points
13. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 28 points
14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 20 points
15. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 20 points
16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 18 points
17. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 16 points
18. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 16 points
19. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 12 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
F1 constructor standings
1. McLaren - 617 points
2. Ferrari - 280 points
3. Mercedes - 260 points
4. Red Bull - 239 points
5. Williams - 86 points
6. Aston Martin - 62 points
7. Racing Bulls - 61 points
8. Sauber - 55 points
9. Haas - 44 points
10. Alpine - 20 points
2025 F1 CALENDAR IN FULL:
ROUND 17 - AZERBAIJAN
Baku City Circuit - 19-21 September
ROUND 18 - SINGAPORE
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 3-5 October
ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 17-19 October
ROUND 20 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 24-26 October
ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend)
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 7-9 November
ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 20-22 November
ROUND 23 - QATAR (sprint weekend)
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 28-30 November
ROUND 24 - ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit - 5-7 December
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Piastri crashes out as Verstappen takes pole in chaotic Azerbaijan GP qualifying
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