Record red-flag carnage sets up wild Azerbaijan GP grid

THE AZERBAIJAN Grand Prix is shaping up to be a spectacular and unpredictable contest after an extraordinary qualifying session in Baku that produced a record six red flags and a starting grid full of surprises.

Verstappen delivers under pressure

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen snatched pole position with a superb 1:41.117, showing why he is a four-time world champion. Despite being forced onto less-than-ideal tyres after the repeated stoppages, Verstappen put together the decisive lap when it mattered most.

He will share the front row with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who was delighted to secure second place after a difficult season. “I nailed the qualifying,” Sainz said. Behind them, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson produced a career-best third place, ahead of Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli in fourth and George Russell in fifth.

Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) starts sixth, while Lando Norris lines up seventh after brushing the wall on his final attempt. McLaren teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri, who holds a 31-point advantage over Norris, starts ninth after crashing late in Q3. 

Charles Leclerc, chasing a fifth consecutive Baku pole, will start 10th after a mistake at Turn 15.

The 51-lap race begins at 1pm SA time.

Red flags dominate the session

Qualifying stretched to two hours as Baku’s unforgiving street circuit punished even the smallest errors.

The first red flag came immediately, with Alex Albon hitting the wall at Turn 1 in Q1. Minutes later, Nico Hulkenberg crashed at Turn 4, followed by Franco Colapinto at the same corner. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman added to the drama in Q2 when he spun into the Turn 2 wall.

The decisive Q3 brought more chaos, with Leclerc crashing at Turn 15 and Piastri sliding out at Turn 3. “I braked a little bit late,” Piastri admitted afterwards, calling the outcome disappointing.

Ferrari’s miserable afternoon

It was a qualifying to forget for Ferrari. Leclerc’s crash left him without a time, while teammate Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2, only 12th fastest. Hamilton admitted he was “disappointed and in big shock,” insisting he thought he was in the fight for the top three.

He questioned Ferrari’s tyre choices in Q2: “We should have been on the medium like everyone else, but we didn’t take that choice.”

Further down the order, Esteban Ocon qualified 18th but was later disqualified after his rear wing failed a deflection test. He will start from the pit lane.

A race wide open

With title contenders starting down the grid and surprise names at the front, Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix promises an unpredictable battle on the streets of Baku. Fans can expect high drama on a track where the walls are always waiting to punish the smallest slip.