OFFICIAL GRID: Who starts where in Baku as Sainz and Perez penalised

A qualifying lap for the ages from George Russell means it's a Mercedes on pole in Azerbaijan, the British driver having gone almost a second faster in Q3 than the man who joins him on the front row, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The Turn 1 scrap for the race lead may well also feature McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull returnee Isack Hadjar, who line up third and fourth respectively, the latter having out-qualified team mate Max Verstappen – eighth – by over half a second.

Row three is a McLaren-Ferrari affair, with Lando Norris heading Lewis Hamilton, and then comes Pierre Gasly, separated from Alpine team mate Franco Colapinto by the aforementioned Verstappen. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Haas’ Ollie Bearman complete the top 10.

That top 10 had originally featured Carlos Sainz in the much-improved Williams, but the Spaniard has dropped to 14th on the grid after a five-place penalty for ignoring yellow flags during Qualifying.

And what of championship leader Kimi Antonelli you ask? A dramatic Q1 exit after clouting his Mercedes’ left-front wheel against the Turn 1 barriers means the Italian driver starts a lowly 16th.

At the rear of the order we have Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, whose P20 grid slot is unaffected by a three-place penalty for impeding Piastri in Qualifying. That's thanks to the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both picking up multiple grid penalties for taking on new power unit components.

The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix starts at 1500 local time. Be sure to join our live coverage from 1400 here.