Qualifying in Baku delivered chaos even by its own standards, a marathon session that broke records, shredded bodywork, and left the grid both shaken and stacked for tomorrow’s race. But in truth, the signs were there all weekend.
Practice already foreshadowed the madness. FP1 had comedy and calamity in equal measure: Carlos Sainz mistakenly pulled into the Alpine garage, while Alex Albon’s left mirror detached, déjà vu of his Qatar 2024 issue and a reminder of how fragile Baku’s bumps can be. By FP2, the teams were already busy revising brake ducts, wings, and floors, trying to get on top of the unique demands of the street circuit. And in FP3, the chaos spilled further: Liam Lawson spun at Turn 16, Franco Colapinto had a balloon thrown at him (a balloon that miraculously survived contact), and Lewis Hamilton took a detour off track, only to quickly rejoin.
With that buildup, qualifying was never going to be straightforward. Run-off trips became so frequent it felt like a drinking game, with red flags stretching Q1 to nearly 40 minutes. The attrition started early: Albon’s crash at Turn 1 ended his session, Nico Hülkenberg found the wall at Turn 4, and Pierre Gasly slid off only for Franco Colapinto to pile into the barriers seconds later. Oliver Bearman added to the tally in Q2, producing the fourth red flag of the day.
Lewis Hamilton’s elimination in Q2 was one of the defining storylines. Ferrari left him out on five-lap-old softs despite his request for new tyres. From topping FP2 outright to missing Q3 entirely, it was a brutal swing. Ferrari’s inflexibility was called out once again, with Hamilton himself clarifying afterward that he knew exactly where the failure lay, and it wasn’t with him.
Q3 became pure mayhem. Charles Leclerc brushed the wall multiple times before eventually crashing at Turn 15, adding another “I am stupid” chapter to his Baku history. The weather didn’t help, with gusting winds and spits of rain turning the track into a lottery. Kimi Antonelli radioed that the surface was slippery everywhere, while for a moment Carlos Sainz even held provisional pole. Liam Lawson was sensational, putting his Visa Cash App RB into P3 with two well-timed laps, the kind of gritty performance FP3’s scrappy spin never hinted was coming.
Oscar Piastri’s crash late in Q3 sealed a brutal stat: six red flags, the most ever in a Formula 1 qualifying session. At nearly two hours long, it outlasted several races and set a new record for the longest dry qualifying in history. The “Destructor’s Championship” felt as relevant as the actual one.
Max Verstappen emerged untouchable. His pole lap was smooth, controlled, and half a second clear. The contrast with Norris was striking: Norris’s banker run looked spectacular but scrappy, like a “fawn on ice,” whereas Verstappen simply maximized every corner.
Behind him, Williams celebrated redemption. Carlos Sainz secured P2, their first Baku front row since Lance Stroll’s 2017 podium, and called it a perfectly executed day. After a season dogged by strategy and reliability misfortunes, this was a statement. The team couldn’t resist drawing on the Stroll throwback, with some daring to imagine another Williams podium in Baku.
Lawson’s P3 was equally remarkable, and crucially built on the confidence he found in FP3 after his spin. Visa Cash App RB timed his runs perfectly, a rare example of strategy execution that matched driver delivery. With Sainz alongside him, the intrigue for Sunday is whether the pair defend as a wall against faster cars behind, or fight each other for second.
Mercedes also thrived, Antonelli in P4 and Russell in P5. Antonelli’s aggressive onboards, throwing the car into corners with barely a margin, were finally rewarded, providing the confidence boost he’s been missing. Tsunoda continued his recent turn in pace in P6. Norris slotted into P7, his timing call leaving him compromised, while Hadjar’s self-described “idiot” mistake left him P8. Piastri salvaged P9 despite his crash, and Leclerc clung to P10 after yet another brush with the barriers.
Haas stole late headlines. Esteban Ocon’s car failed a rear wing deflection test, with one side flexing 0.825 mm where only 0.5 mm was allowed. Haas traced it to a production defect, but the DSQ stood. He will start from the pit lane after FIA approval, a formality since his FP3 pace showed he was within 107%.
So the final grid lines up: Verstappen, Sainz, Lawson, Antonelli, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, Hadjar, Piastri, Leclerc. Hamilton and Alonso lurk just behind, with a stacked midfield ensuring fireworks.
In the end, this was Baku at its rawest: FP1 silliness, FP2 tweaks, FP3 chaos, and a qualifying session that spiraled into destruction, disqualification, and disbelief. Six red flags, record delays, improbable heroes, and one inevitable conclusion: Verstappen on pole.