Misjudgment and error left Formula One’s leading lights flailing on the streets of Baku, but Max Verstappen delivered pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with the control and precision execution that was a salutary reminder of the mental strength that backs his undoubted talent.
Verstappen took the top spot after a dramatic and chaotic session on the testing street circuit, interrupted by a record six red-flag stoppages due to crashes. It concluded with a grid turned upside down and the two world championship rivals, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, left languishing in seventh and ninth.
Verstappen is not given to hyperbole so his verdict on qualifying was indicative of just how hard it had been. “This track is already hard enough without anything,” he said. “So, with the strong winds that we had, the car was moving around a lot. Understeer, oversteer in different places on the straights, going left to right. To basically nail everything and also then the big interruptions that we had was just very tricky.”
Williams’ Carlos Sainz had the track’s measure to claim a remarkable second, while Liam Lawson was third for Racing Bulls, his best qualifying result. The session lasted a full two hours with no fewer than seven drivers – including Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – crashing out.
High tailwinds made the cars unstable, the poor conditions compounded by drizzle late in the session – hardly a showcase for the pinnacle of motor racing. Time after time drivers were caught out, being too hot into corners and made to look decidedly average.
From the championship perspective it was the unusual unforced error from Piastri, who ploughed into a wall, which might have been most costly. “I braked a little bit late,” said the Australian championship leader. “It was a case of trying a little bit too hard and paying the price.”
Yet just as his title rival Norris had a shot at reeling in the 31-point gap to his teammate, he failed to capitalise when he too brushed a wall on his final lap. He felt it cost him a little time but believed the team should have put him out later on those final decisive laps, as Red Bull had with Verstappen.
1 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull 1min 41.117sec
2 Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Williams 1:41.595
3 Liam Lawson (NZ) Racing Bulls 1:41.707
4 Kimi Antonelli (It) Mercedes 1:41.717
5 George Russell (GB) Mercedes 1:42.070
6 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:42.143
7 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:42.239
8 Isack Hadjar (Fr) Racing Bulls 1:42.372
9 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren No Time Set
10 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari No Time Set
Q2
11 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Aston Martin 1:41.857
12 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari 1:42.183
13 Gabriel Bortoleto (Br) Kick 1:42.277
14 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:43.061
15 Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas F1 No Time Set
Q1
16 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine 1:42.779
17 Nico Hülkenberg (Ger) Kick 1:42.916
18 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Alpine 1:43.139
19 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:43.778
20 *Esteban Ocon (Fr) Haas F1 1:43.004
*Placed last due to failing test on rear wing
As it is neither McLaren driver has much chance of catching the Dutchman, who was quick throughout qualifying, and the duo are in a fight of their own on Sunday for those vital championship points. Norris must move forward, Piastri must go with him.
The elongated qualifying barely achieved any momentum given the stoppages, four in Q1 alone, and as it progressed so the damage toll rose until the final session as light rain began to pepper the track. Sainz had set the opening quickest lap to take the top spot only for Leclerc to cause the fifth red flag of the session, putting it in the wall at turn 15 when carrying too much speed, before the other main contenders had set their times.
“You can start dancing to see if it rains a bit harder, no?” Sainz urged his team before the session resumed with seven minutes left on the clock on a dry track. Surely this time to the finish?
Verstappen duly went out first but before he could finish a lap, Piastri too was caught out going in with too much speed at turn three and clattering front-first into the barrier. The red flag was deployed once more before anyone had set a time.
A one-shot showdown to decide the grid was all that remained in the final four minutes and Norris went out first. He wrestled with the car, which was squirming beneath him on a damp track, and he too brushed the wall at turn 16. His chance of putting a big point swing on Piastri was likely gone.
Verstappen, as ever given half a chance, grasped it and was flying, quickest in the first sector he held his nerve to claim the top spot with a 1min 41.117sec lap. It was his first pole in Baku, and with a Williams and a Racing Bull closest to him he will fancy he has every chance to convert it to victory.
It is a fitting opportunity for holding it together in Baku where, on the form his colleagues demonstrated in qualifying, a long-old race may be in prospect on Sunday too.
Lewis Hamilton was disappointed to manage only 12th, knocked out in Q2 for Ferrari after he had felt more confident as the weekend progressed. His teammate Leclerc finished in 10th. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were in fourth and fifth for Mercedes.
• This article was amended on 22 September 2025. An earlier version said that Max Verstappen had not yet won the race at Baku, when he won the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
