Mercedes driver George Russell dominated qualifying at the Baku City Circuit to secure pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed in Q1, sustaining terminal front-left suspension damage after tagging the barriers at Turn 1. Despite setting a time fast enough to advance, Antonelli will start from 16th.

Russell, who had been rapid all weekend, capitalized on the situation to claim his fifth pole of the season with a lap time of 1m42.526s. Charles Leclerc qualified second for Ferrari, followed by Oscar Piastri in third. Isack Hadjar celebrated his return from injury with fourth, while Lando Norris slipped to fifth.

Max Verstappen managed eighth after yellow flags disrupted his final run. Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto rounded out the top ten for Williams and Alpine respectively. The session saw dramatic moments, including track evolution affecting lap times and multiple incidents impacting grid positions.