Championship leader Antonelli crashes out in Q1
Mercedes teammate takes pole by 0.837 from Leclerc
Kimi Antonelli was left ruing an uncharacteristic error in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which eliminated the championship leader in the first session after he hit a wall in Baku. His Mercedes teammate George Russell claimed pole with a fine lap and will be in a strong position to make up ground in the title chase in Saturday’s race.
Antonelli leads Russell by 81 points in the world championship and has won the last two races but sat disconsolately trackside after only 11 minutes of running on Friday in Baku, when he was a little too eager into the 90-degree left-handed turn one and clipped the barrier.
He took damage to the track rod and a puncture and while he attempted to bring the car home he was told to park up by his race engineer, Pete Bonnington. “We can’t fix this, mate,” he said. The 20-year-old’s time was enough to see him through to Q2 in which he took no part and he will start the race from 16th on the grid, unless higher drivers take grid penalties.
The error was striking because Antonelli had shown such composure in stepping up to control the championship in only his second season in the sport. The Italian has barely put a foot wrong this season, during which he has taken eight wins and amassed a large lead. This is his only serious error since he crashed in final practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and he was understandably crestfallen.
Russell in is every position to take advantage but Antonelli knows that the race is far from a write-off. At Monza he came back from 19th to take victory and Baku, with its long straights, has opportunities for overtaking. It will nonetheless be another serious test for the youngster who must maintain his nerve to close out a title that is within his grasp.
Russell did everything that was required of him in qualifying, showing a confidence and touch that he has lacked at points this season. He has been quick all weekend in Azerbaijan, outpacing his teammate.
On the first hot runs in Q3 Russell opened quickly but was pushed hard by McLaren’s Lando Norris who edged into the lead, only to be pipped in turn by his teammate, Oscar Piastri, who was a 10th up. This represented a large improvement for McLaren who brought a section of upgrades to Baku. They pitted their drivers for a fuel top-up but Russell continued to circuit and with another push lap and a helpful tow from Isack Hadjar regained the lead by almost a half a second as the McLarens emerged again.
With the track evolving and grip at its peak Russell’s last hot lap was even better; quick in the first sector, he continued to improve and finished with a run and a time of 1mi 42.526secs. The margin was huge – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, a specialist on the street circuit with four poles in Baku, was 0.837 back, the biggest gap to pole of the season.
Norris locked up on his final lap at turn three and could manage only fifth. Piastri was third and Hadjar fourth, with his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen in eighth and Lewis Hamilton in sixth.
The pre-season favourite, Russell has been on the back foot as he attempted with problems around the car’s energy deployment which had left him frustrated and examining his own driving style. However, having said he intended to drive more instinctively he came into the weekend confident and backed it up with another inch-perfect run in qualifying. If he can convert it on Saturday Russell will have at least kept his title hopes alive.
Russell will take heart in his fifth pole this year, his first in Baku and his first since the Austrian GP but the serious business remains on Saturday, on both sides of the Mercedes garage.