Russell’s Incredible Baku Pole Explained | Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026

George Russell produced a stunning lap to take pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix — but how did Mercedes find so much pace? Stuart Codling breaks down an extraordinary qualifying session in Baku, where Russell claimed pole by eight-tenths of a second from Charles Leclerc and then backed it up with another huge lap. Behind him, Max Verstappen could only qualify eighth after an engine problem compromised his electrical deployment, while Kimi Antonelli crashed in Q1 and will start deep in the field. Stuart also looks at Ferrari’s qualifying execution, McLaren’s struggles for straight-line speed, Oscar Piastri’s near-miss for second, and Lando Norris’ continuing concerns about the MCL’s performance. Further down the grid, Carlos Sainz’s five-place penalty changes the starting order, Franco Colapinto moves up, and Oliver Bearman narrowly misses out on Q3. And what can we expect in Sunday’s race? Stuart looks at the likely tyre strategy, the importance of safety cars and the unpredictable Baku wind. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Russell’s stunning Baku pole 01:33 – Antonelli’s Q1 crash 02:29 – Why the soft tyres caused problems 03:30 – Verstappen’s engine problem explained 04:01 – Leclerc P2 and Piastri’s near miss 05:23 – McLaren’s straight-line speed problem 06:16 – Hamilton’s Ferrari frustration 07:08 – Gasly, Verstappen and the midfield battle 08:07 – Sainz’s penalty reshapes the top 10 09:41 – Baku race strategy: who will one-stop? 10:11 – Wind, safety cars and Sunday’s big variables #F1 #Formula1 #AzerbaijanGP #BakuGP #Autosport FOLLOW us online: Website: https://www.autosport.com/ Facebook: http://facebook.com/AUTOSPORT Twitter: https://twitter.com/autosport Instagram: http://instagram.com/autosport