Max Verstappen will start in pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a super-extended F1 Qualifying session eliminated his most significant competitors for the race. Carlos Sainz claimed second, while Liam Lawson finished in third. With a record six red flags and multiple yellow flags impeding and disrupting the session, every single second counted. To prepare you for Sunday, we have compiled all incidents from the F1 Qualifying below.
Windy Conditions Persist As Tyres Are Conserved
The City of Winds lived up to its name during Free Practice 3. The drivers had already been buffeted wide at several turns and ruining hot laps. While all the drivers were lined up before the Q1 session got underway, one McLaren was still in the garage. Oscar Piastri was not in his car, and the mechanics were standing by to bolt on a front wing. The #81 was out shortly after, coming out on the medium tyre. Piastri’s teammate, Norris, and the two Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers, Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, also had medium compounds fitted. Everyone else was out on the soft compound tyre.
Triple Red Flags in Q1 Results in Tough Shootout to Advance
Within the first few minutes, yellow flags wrecked some laps for those on flying times. Piastri was forced to abort as Alexander Albon clipped the wall. The incident resulted in a broken suspension for the Atlassian Williams Racing car and an end to Albon’s Saturday. The session resumed shortly later, with Pierre Gasly coming out on new softs and Fernando Alonso alternating to the mediums. Kimi Antonelli was noted for a yellow flag infringement. This infringement was similar to the one the FIA had reprimanded Piastri for in Free Practice 2.
Piastri managed to get in a lap two seconds before another red flag stopped the session again. This time it was Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber driver, Nico Hulkenberg, when he locked up going into Turn 4. He managed to get the car back on track to head to the pits, but left his front wing behind. Gabriel Bortoleto was also noted for a yellow flag infringement. The Q1 session resumed for the third time, but less than six minutes remained to set a time good enough to advance into Q2. Antonelli achieved a much-needed clean lap to graduate from Q1. Just in time, as we finished the session on another red flag, as both BWT Alpine Formula One drivers had incidents. The yellow flags had come out for Gasly as he ran off into the escape road at Turn 4, but it was Franco Colapinto and his crash into the barriers coming out of the same corner that brought the red flags out.
Hamilton Knocked out of Q2 As Incidents Impede
Knowing that his teammate was out of contention, Sainz blitzed out of the pit lane after a delayed start on medium compound tyres. Yellow flags came out when Isack Hadjar ran off into the escape road, but he was able to reverse back out on the track. A minute or so later, our fourth red flag of the day came out as Oliver Bearman clipped the wall and had to pull his MoneyGram Haas F1 Team car to the side. At this point, no driver had set a time, and fewer than twelve minutes were remaining.
Charles Leclerc came out on new mediums. However, it appeared that Scuderia Ferrari decided to split strategies and put Lewis Hamilton on the soft compound. Yellow flags came out yet again, though, as Leclerc lost the rear. While he did save the car from going into the barrier, the #16 impacted his teammate’s chance to start a flying lap. All eyes were on the prize of Q3 advancement as drivers put their feet to the floor. There were light licks to the barrier from Leclerc and Piastri, but none that put them out of action. Hamilton runs out of time and out of luck to set another time, pulling into the pit lane as the clock ticks over to zero.
Championship Leader Crashes and A Mixed Top Ten
There were reports of light rain falling as the final ten drivers returned to the track for Q3. Both Visa Cash App Racing Bulls drivers were the only ones using softs, while the rest of the Q3 contenders used either fresh or used medium compounds. George Russell ran straight on as Verstappen reported rain and slippery conditions over the radio. For Scuderia Ferrari, the day went from bad to worse as Leclerc went in too hot at Turn 15 and crashed into the barrier. For the fifth time across all three qualifying sessions, the red flags were out.
With the rain calming down and sunshine breaking through, the session resumed with Sainz on provisional pole and a little over seven minutes left on the clock. The suggested strategy for drivers was to complete the out lap before implementing a push-cool-push. However, Piastri went hard into the barrier at Turn 3, which resulted in the sixth red flag of the F1 Qualifying Session. This meant there were fewer than four minutes with the remaining eight drivers still without a time on the board.
With a little more rain coming down as the session resumed, we were expecting the unexpected. Norris was the first to set a time. The #4 brushed the wall, falling short of Sainz and then tumbling down as the rest of the laps came through. That left Verstappen to take the opportunity he had bided his time for, claiming pole for the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025.
McLaren only need to outscore the other teams by nine points to become Constructor Champions. However, an upset could occur come the race on Sunday. Both Norris and Piastri making crucial errors and the silent patience of Verstappen paid off. As we’ve witnessed in F1 Qualifying, multiple disruptions can occur, from a huge headwind to a massive crash. Who will get the tow and the edge to take the crown in Azerbaijan?