George Russell on pole position in Baku – Antonelli only in 16th place on the grid

George Russell has taken pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and has the chance for a worthwhile attack on Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. The Englishman turned by far the fastest lap in qualifying in Baku on Friday, while rival Antonelli only qualified in 16th place on the grid.

The confident World Championship leader made a driving error in the first section, touched the track barrier and damaged the left front wheel suspension of his car. With the previously set time, Antonelli survived the first qualifying segment, but he was no longer able to compete in the second section. "I'm sorry guys, my God," he radioed.

Second and third starting positions were taken by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, both of whom were eight tenths of a second behind Russell.

Ran away in the World Cup

There are still nine races planned this season, Antonelli is 81 points ahead of Russell, who is second in the championship. His driving mistake on Friday alone does not pose a threat to his title ambitions. Especially since he should also finish in the points in the strong Mercedes in the race on Saturday (1:00 p.m. CEST, live ticker SPIEGEL.de, TV: Sky). Most recently, Antonelli won the Grand Prix in Monza at the beginning of September from 19th place on the grid. At that time, he was withdrawn due to technical problems.

World champion Lando Norris (McLaren) came fifth, directly ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had to settle for eighth place. Qualifying was also disappointing for Audi, who had brought some updates with them. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg couldn't get past 17th and 18th place for the German factory team.

In order to avoid a scheduling conflict with a national day of remembrance on Sunday, the entire race weekend in Baku was moved forward by one day. Therefore, the race on the narrow street circuit will take place on Saturday.