Verstappen Denies Sainz Shock Pole in Baku Qualifying
After an unprecedented six red flags during Qualifying in Azerbaijan, Max Verstappen denied Carlos Sainz a shock pole position as Oscar Piastri crashed out.
Max Verstappen denied Carlos Sainz a shock pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out.
The Red Bull driver claimed back-to-back pole positions after a thrilling Qualifying session which was impacted by an F1 record of six red flags, the final one having huge ramifications on the final order.
With Sainz, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar having set laps in Q3 and drops of rain starting to fall, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc hit the barrier at Turn 15 to bring out the red flag and prevent anyone else from finishing a lap time.
When the session resumed, Lando Norris and Verstappen were setting fastest sector times but dramatically, Piastri hit the barrier at Turn 3 to cause another stoppage with less than four minutes left on the clock.
With the green light back on, track conditions were far from their optimal and drivers scrambled to find the grip, with Verstappen setting a 1m 41.117s to deny Sainz pole by just under half a second.
Lawson improved with his second lap to remain third, ahead of the Mercedes cars of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell and the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda.
Baku results for qualifying are available within the Baku Qualifying report on F1.com
Norris failed to capitalise on his team mate's pivotal error with a scrappy lap that left him only P7 in front of Hadjar and the timeless Piastri and Leclerc.
Despite an impressive showing across practice, Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 after struggling to string a lap together, leaving the Ferrari driver P12 and behind Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.
Gabriel Bortoleto's Kick Sauber headed the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, while Haas rookie Ollie Bearman wound up P15 and without a time after hitting the barrier on the exit of Turn 2 which caused a red flag.
Franco Colapinto was left 16th and eliminated in Q1 after the Alpine driver brought out the red flag at the end of the session, having hit the barrier at Turn 4.
Nico Hulkenberg finished P17 and also caused an earlier stoppage after striking the barrier at the same turn, while Esteban Ocon (Haas), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Alex Albon completed the order, the Williams driver bringing out the first red flag after hitting the wall at Turn 1.
Full Report on F1.com