Russell took Baku pole as Mercedes excelled
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 25, 2026
Russell took pole
Mercedes driver George Russell delivered the headline lap of the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session in Baku. Russell took pole position with a lap of 1 minute 42.526 seconds, led every segment of qualifying and beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.837 seconds. That was the biggest qualifying gap of the 2026 season, and it gave Russell his fifth pole of the Formula One campaign. It was also his first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix in June, a stretch that made this one stand out even more. Russell called it “the perfect lap” and said the Mercedes car felt great. He also said Mercedes was in a strong position to fight for the win. The Baku straight appeared to suit Mercedes’ engine and car design, and Russell used that speed to build a margin the rest of the field could not touch. In a session where every mistake carried a cost, he kept the lap clean and delivered the kind of run that turns a front-row fight into a clear statement.
Leclerc led chase
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc gave Russell the closest challenge, but the margin still ended up wide by qualifying standards. Leclerc took second, Oscar Piastri finished third and Isack Hadjar took fourth. Lando Norris qualified fifth, Lewis Hamilton sixth and Pierre Gasly seventh, which kept the front of the grid crowded with familiar names but not close enough to threaten Russell’s time. Max Verstappen lined up eighth after engine, battery and yellow-flag problems disrupted his final run and kept him from mounting a proper late challenge. Carlos Sainz qualified ninth and Franco Colapinto completed the top 10. Russell set the standard, Leclerc chased it, and the rest of the field spent the session trying to close a margin that kept growing when it mattered most.
Antonelli crashed hard
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had the toughest end of the session, hitting the Turn 1 wall in Q1 and damaging his car. The crash left him classified 16th on the grid and added another setback to a difficult day for the driver. Antonelli called it a “very unnecessary and very stupid mistake” and said he was “very mad.” He also said a hydraulic issue had already disrupted his running and made the session even harder to manage. That left Mercedes with a sharp split in fortunes, Russell on pole at one end of the garage and Antonelli dealing with the fallout of an early crash at the other. The contrast fit the wider picture of the day. Mercedes looked strong on the Baku straight and Russell turned that strength into pole position, but Antonelli never got a clean chance to join the front-running fight. His crash ended that hope quickly.
