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Russell Dominates Azerbaijan GP Qualifying
26 Sep
Summary
- George Russell secured his fifth pole position this season.
- Russell's final lap was over eight tenths of a second faster than Leclerc.
- Kimi Antonelli crashed out due to what he called a 'very stupid' mistake.
George Russell achieved his fifth pole position of the season with a dominant performance in Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying. His Mercedes secured the top spot with a lap time of 1m 42.526s, comfortably outpacing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by over eight tenths of a second, the largest pole margin seen this season.
This result positions Russell favorably to gain ground on his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who is the title favorite but faces an 81-point deficit. Antonelli's qualifying session ended prematurely after a crash, which he attributed to a "very stupid" mistake and misjudging the grip levels.
Oscar Piastri qualified third for McLaren, narrowly behind Leclerc. Isack Hadjar returned from injury to secure fourth for Red Bull, ahead of Lando Norris in fifth. Several other drivers faced grid penalties, including Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll incurred significant penalties for power unit changes.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, September 26.
