Azerbaijan GP qualifying: Russell on pole, Antonelli 16th
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli is set to start Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix from 16th on the grid. In Q1 he clipped the inside wall at Turn 1 and damaged the front suspension of his Mercedes. He had already set a time good enough to reach Q2 but could not take part in it. His teammate George Russell took pole position, his fifth of the season, by 0.837s from Charles Leclerc.
Antonelli out of action in Q1
The crash came with seven minutes of Q1 remaining. Antonelli was starting his second flying lap when he hit the inside wall at the left-hand Turn 1. The front-left wheel was immediately pointing in the wrong direction, and the tire was punctured.
The Italian wanted to keep going and bring the Mercedes W17 back to the garage. His engineer, Peter Bonnington, told him to stop the car because a repair would not have been possible anyway. Antonelli parked and watched the rest of Q1 from behind the fence.
He was sixth at the time of the crash. As his rivals improved, he dropped to 15th, which was still enough to advance to Q2. Because he could not go out in that session, he is set to start 16th, unless grid penalties change that.
Antonelli on his mistake and his race plan
The Mercedes driver called his mistake very stupid and unnecessary. "It was simply a misjudgment, because the grip was changing a lot. An unnecessary mistake in Q1 and a very good reminder that this way nothing goes my way, so I have to do my job much better," Antonelli said.
He also explained what happened in the corner. He had a much stronger headwind than on the previous lap, so the front of the car gripped more. He turned in at roughly the same point, but the car responded more sharply and touched the wall.
The 20-year-old had been on the back foot since the start of the weekend. He lost a large part of Thursday's practice session to a hydraulic problem and admitted he was not fully up to speed. "George is doing an incredible job this weekend. He has a very good feel for the car, so he definitely made the difference. I have to admit that honestly, but the car is also very, very fast," he added.
The last time Antonelli started from the back of the field, he won in front of his home crowd at Monza. He cautioned that a repeat will be harder in Baku because overtaking is more difficult here. "A good start, stay out of trouble, and then try to run a really good pace," he said of his plan. "I have nothing to lose," he stressed.
How Russell built his margin
Russell topped Q1 with a 1:43.615. He also led Q2 with a 1:43.462, two tenths clear of Max Verstappen.
McLaren sprang a surprise at the start of Q3. After the first runs, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were ahead of the Briton, with Piastri on 1:43.571. On his second run, Russell went half a second faster than Piastri with a 1:43.037.
Going into the final runs, he led Leclerc by 0.435s. On his last attempt he found another five tenths for a 1:42.526. Before Leclerc completed his final lap, the gap stood at 0.946s. The Ferrari driver cut it to 0.837s. Only three drivers were within a second of Russell.
Leclerc, Piastri and Hadjar behind the Mercedes
Ferrari delayed Leclerc's first Q3 run. The Monegasque was provisionally second after it and improved by another tenth on his final attempt. Piastri took third, just one thousandth behind Leclerc.
Isack Hadjar was fourth in his first qualifying session since the wrist injury that kept him out of the first three races after the summer break. He traded times with teammate Verstappen throughout qualifying.
Norris locked up heavily at Turn 3 on his final attempt, and an earlier lap gave him fifth. Lewis Hamilton, who complained about tire warm-up throughout qualifying, was sixth. Alpine's Pierre Gasly was seventh.
Verstappen, fastest in FP3, qualified eighth. He had to back off on his final lap because of yellow flags following Norris's mistake, and after the session he reported a lack of power from his power unit. Carlos Sainz reached Q3 for the first time this year in the upgraded Williams FW48 and was ninth, but he received a grid penalty for breaching the yellow flag rules. Franco Colapinto completed the top 10 after a lock-up at Turn 15 compromised his lap.
Who went out in Q1 and Q2
Haas and Racing Bulls each lost both cars in Q2. Ollie Bearman was knocked out at the last moment when Colapinto went past his time, leaving him 11th. Liam Lawson was 12th and Alex Albon 13th. Esteban Ocon was 14th after having a lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 2. Arvid Lindblad lost a lap for track limits at Turn 1 and was 15th, just ahead of Antonelli.
In Q1, Audi lost both cars for the first time this year despite bringing a large upgrade package to Baku. Gabriel Bortoleto was 17th and Nico Hulkenberg 18th, followed by Fernando Alonso (19th), Sergio Perez (20th) and Lance Stroll (21st). Valtteri Bottas was last in 22nd after his final time was deleted for driving under double yellow flags. Alonso and Stroll are set to start from the back anyway after changing Honda power unit components.
Ahead of Saturday's race
Russell trails Antonelli by 81 points in the standings. The race takes place at the Baku City Circuit, a 6 km street track with a long straight where overtaking is possible.