Russell Takes Baku Pole as Leclerc Secures Front-Row Start

George Russell secured pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after setting the fastest qualifying time of 1:42.526. The Mercedes driver claimed the 12th pole position of his career and his fifth of the season.The qualifying session was interrupted by several yellow-flag periods. In Q1, Kimi Antonelli ended his session after damaging his suspension following contact with the barriers. Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad and Antonelli were eliminated in the opening two stages of qualifying.Russell proved untouchable in the final session, with Charles Leclerc qualifying second, around eight-tenths of a second behind the Mercedes driver. Oscar Piastri secured third place, while Isack Hadjar returned from injury to qualify fourth.Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton completed the third row in fifth and sixth respectively.Carlos Sainz guided Williams into Q3 for the first time this season and qualified ninth. However, the Spaniard will drop five places on the starting grid after failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags.Russell and Leclerc will share the front row for Sunday’s race, while Piastri and Hadjar will start from the second row.