2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: George's moment and Kimi's crash

Wondering why the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying is already over? The entire race weekend schedule was shifted forward by one day — running from Thursday to Saturday — to avoid holding the main race on Sunday, September 27. September 27 is Azerbaijan's national Day of Remembrance (Anım Günü), a solemn national holiday dedicated to honouring the soldiers killed during the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

In the Friday qualifying session at the Baku City Circuit, Mercedes driver George Russell secured pole position with a commanding lap time of 1:42.526, finishing nearly nine-tenths of a second clear of the field. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc locked down second place on the front row, closely followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri in third and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in fourth.

Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli suffered a shock crash during the session, leaving him on the back row of the grid for Saturday's race. The rest of the top ten grid positions were claimed by Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Franco Colapinto.

The session delivered additional drama across the grid, starting with Antonelli's early crash in Q1 when he clipped the wall, handing his Mercedes teammate Russell a golden opportunity to chip into the Italian's 81-point championship lead during Saturday's race. Meanwhile, Red Bull's session turned chaotic in Q3; after topping Friday's earlier FP3 practice, Max Verstappen was running a hot lap when Lando Norris suffered a late mistake ahead of him, triggering a yellow flag that ruined Verstappen's flying lap and relegated the Dutchman to an uncharacteristic 8th-place start.

Further down the order, the Alpine team enjoyed a strong Friday showing by placing both Pierre Gasly in 7th and Franco Colapinto in 10th into the final session. Additionally, Carlos Sainz Jr. achieved a major milestone for Williams by securing 9th position, marking the team’s very first Q3 entry of the 2026 season.

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