2026 Azerbaijan GP Starting Grid: Russell on Pole, Sainz and Perez Penalized
George Russell claims pole position for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while penalties hit Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez. The starting grid sees some unexpected shifts ahead of the race in Baku.
A blistering lap from George Russell has put him on pole for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading the grid with a time nearly a second quicker than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who sits beside him on the front row. McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar of Red Bull fill out the second row, with Hadjar impressively outpacing his more seasoned teammate, Max Verstappen, who finds himself starting eighth.
Row three features a McLaren-Ferrari duel with Lando Norris ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto sandwich Verstappen, who managed to qualify eighth despite his teammate's strong showing. Completing the top ten are Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Haas' Oliver Bearman.
Originally in the top ten, Carlos Sainz of Williams has been demoted to 14th after being penalized for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying. Meanwhile, championship front-runner Kimi Antonelli endured a dramatic exit in Q1 after his Mercedes collided with the barriers at Turn 1, relegating him to 16th on the grid.
At the tail end, Sergio Perez of Cadillac retains his P20 slot, his penalty for impeding Piastri rendered moot by multiple penalties for the Aston Martin duo, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, due to power unit component changes.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicks off at 3:00 PM local time. Fans can catch the pre-race coverage starting an hour earlier on the official F1 site.