#F1: @Max33Verstappen claims 66th-career pole in chaotic #AzerbaijanGP #Qualifying.
Janelle Zharmenova presents Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen, (NED), #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB21 in Parc Ferme with his Pirelli Pole Position Award, Qualifying, Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Image credit to Sam Bloxham/LAT Images. Verstappen Azerbaijan GP Pole, 2025 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying, Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Results, F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Results, F1 Baku Qualifying Results, Verstappen 66th Career Pole.
Verstappen Azerbaijan GP Pole – Reigning world champion Max Verstappen took his 46th-career pole position in a chaotic qualifying session at the Azerbaijan GP which saw a record six crashes including championship leader Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Atlassian Williams Racing’s Carlos Sainz and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 Team’s Liam Lawson were second and third respectively. The other championship contender Lando Norris ended up seventh.
In Q3, the initial flyers saw Mercedes’ George Russell go off at turn four.
RB’s Liam Lawson was the first to post the benchmark of a 1:42.560 then was beaten by Williams’ Carlos Sainz’s 1:41.595 on the C5 mediums as the Spaniard went to provisional pole whilst Isack Hadjar slotted into third with his 1:42.863 effort.
The red flag was brought out for the fifth time in qualifying seven minutes and seven seconds in after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a shunt into the wall.
Replays showed the Monegasque driver suffered a lock-up and went straight into the barriers at turn 15 damaging the front-right of his SF-25 entry and spilling front wing debris onto the track as drops of rain started to fall on the Baku City Circuit.
After Leclerc’s SF-25 entry was cleared, Verstappen lead the pack out and whilst they were completing their hot-laps with three minutes and 41 seconds to go a record sixth red flag was brought out after championship leader Piastri suffered a heavy shunt at turn three.
Replays showed the Australian carried too much speed into the corner and went straight into the barriers destroying the front right corner of his MCL39 entry.
Following a short delay and Piastri’s McLaren was cleared, Norris lead the field out on a set of softs leaving drivers to set just one lap in a fight for the pole.
The Briton set a personal best in sector two despite hitting the wall at turn 15 and he slotted into second and was demoted by Russell’s 1:42.070, which was then ousted by Lawson’s 1:41.707 as the Kiwi jumped into the front row temporarily.
Verstappen came through with a purple sector one and two personal bests to take pole position by 0.478 seconds ahead of Sainz.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli pipped team-mate Russell for fourth as the Silver Arrows occupied the second row of the grid.
The other Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda was seventh ahead of Norris as Hadjar ended up eighth whilst the aforementioned Piastri and Leclerc did not set a time due to their heavy crashes.
In the second qualifying stage, which was topped by Verstappen, the fourth red flag of the qualifying session was waved due to Haas’s Oliver Bearman who clipped the wall and stopped in-between turns two and three.
The replays showed Bearman whacked the wall with his rear right and damaged his suspension as he slowly travelled down the straight and stopped to the left in-between the second and third corner.
A late improvement from Tsunoda pipped Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to make it into the final qualifying stage by a slim 0.069 seconds meaning the Spaniard will start 11th on the grid.
Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton was the shock eliminatee wounding up 12th and done six laps on the softer compound.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto followed in 13th and ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who placed 14th after suffering a snap into the turn one run-off area and could not set a quick lap.
The aforementioned Bearman ending up 15th following his shunt and unable to set a lap-time.
In the opening segment, which was topped by Norris, a red flag was brought out 11 and 33 minutes left on the clock after Williams’ Alexander Albon was seen stopped in-between corners one and two.
Replays showed the Thai-Briton driver clipped the inside wall at turn one damaging his front-left suspension and came to a stop in-between the first two turns.
A second red flag was brought out after Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg suffered a lock-up into turn four and went straight into the wall and damaged his front wing.
The German managed to reverse out of the run-off area and travelled back to the pits.
A flurry of late improvements saw Bortoleto improve and progress as he sent Alpine’s Franco Colapinto out of Q1 and a third red flag was waved after the Argentine suffered a heavy crash in the wall on his final flyer and the other A525 entry Pierre Gasly also ran off at turn four.
Replays showed Colapinto suffered a snap out of turn four with his left-rear whacking the wall and then sent the front left into barriers destroying left side of his A525 racer.
The other aforementioned Sauber of Hulkenberg qualified 17th and in-front of Haas’s Esteban Ocon who was 18th and Gasly who took 19th whilst Albon brought up the rear.
You can see the full Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1269/azerbaijan/qualifying
2025 Azerbaijan GP – The Top Three
2025 Azerbaijan GP Pole Position – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB21 – 1:41.117:
“A long Qualifying to be honest with so many red flags. Hard to get your tyres in condition with so many stoppages. The last lap you just have to send it, I wasn’t even on the best tyres are with the red flags, you run out of tyres. We definitely were in there for pole, but I’m just happy as since Monza we are doing a better job.”
2nd Place – Carlos Sainz, #55, Atlassian Williams Racing, Mercedes, FW47 – 1:41.595:
“Very happy! We nailed the Qualifying today, always on the right tyre at the right time and some very good laps. We are P2, it is great news. Plan for tomorrow – try and stick it on the podium. I am going to try my best to give Williams a first podium.”
3rd Place – Liam Lawson, #30, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 Team, Honda-RBPT, VCARB02 – 1:41.707:
“I can’t even remember what happened, it was so busy. I didn’t expect it to be like that honestly. The car has been good all weekend, so massive thanks to the team. You can see the rain on your visor but the tyres are warm so you have grip, so you try to fight your brain and keep pushing. We have a great starting position, but we are aware of who we are fighting tomorrow.”
