Max Verstappen took pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, denying Carlos Sainz a surprise top spot after an eventful qualifying session that saw six red flags, a new Formula 1 record. Oscar Piastri crashed out during the chaos.
Verstappen secured back-to-back poles after a tense session. Rain started falling as Sainz, Liam Lawson, and Isack Hadjar set their laps in Q3. But then Charles Leclerc crashed at Turn 15, causing a red flag that stopped others from improving their times.
When qualifying restarted, Verstappen and Lando Norris were setting the fastest times, but then Piastri crashed at Turn 3, causing another red flag with less than four minutes left.
Despite tricky conditions after the restart, Verstappen managed a best lap of 1:41.117, nearly half a second faster than Sainz. Lawson kept third place, ahead of Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Lando Norris struggled to improve and finished seventh, just ahead of Hadjar, Piastri, and Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton, who had a strong practice, was knocked out in Q2 and ended up 12th, behind Ferrari’s Leclerc and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Other incidents included Haas rookie Ollie Bearman crashing and causing a red flag in Q2, and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg also crashing in Q1.
