If you ever doubted that Formula 1 could still surprise you, the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session in Baku has just delivered a masterclass in chaos, heartbreak, and the kind of drama that makes you question whether the racing gods are pranksters with a penchant for slapstick. Six red flags, a record for the ages, and a starting grid that reads like the result of a lottery draw rather than a display of pure speed. Welcome to Baku, where the walls are hungry and the script is always unwritten.
- The Baku Ballet: When Qualifying Becomes Survival
- Table: 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying Top 10
- Red Flags, Broken Wings, and the Anatomy of Chaos
- The Fall of the Usual Suspects: Ferrari’s Baku Nightmare
- Williams and Sainz: The Unexpected Heroes
- The Young and the Restless: Lawson, Antonelli, and the New Guard
- Baku’s Place in the Pantheon of Chaos
- The Starting Grid: A New World Order?
- Waste a bit more time
The Baku Ballet: When Qualifying Becomes Survival
Let’s not mince words: Baku has always been a circuit that rewards the brave and punishes the overconfident. But even by its own standards, today’s qualifying was a demolition derby disguised as a time trial. The session stretched to nearly two hours, punctuated by six—yes, six—red flags, as drivers ricocheted off barriers, dreams, and, occasionally, each other’s ambitions.
Max Verstappen, who until today had never claimed pole at this circuit, finally broke his Baku duck. It was his sixth pole of the season, but the first on these treacherous streets—a fact that will no doubt be lost on the highlight reels, but not on those of us who remember his previous near-misses and the ghosts of Leclerc’s four consecutive poles here. Verstappen’s lap was a study in controlled aggression, threading the needle while the rest of the field seemed intent on sewing chaos.
Behind him, the surprises kept coming. Carlos Sainz, now in Williams blue, delivered a lap that will be replayed in Grove for years to come, securing second on the grid. Liam Lawson, the Racing Bulls’ prodigy, took third, while the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell rounded out the top five. Lando Norris, usually a qualifying maestro, could only manage seventh, while Oscar Piastri—championship leader and usually the ice-cool head—ended his day in the wall, bringing out the record-breaking sixth red flag.
For Ferrari, it was a day to forget. Charles Leclerc, the king of Baku qualifying, crashed in Q3, ending his streak and starting tenth. Lewis Hamilton, fastest in practice, found himself mired in twelfth after a lacklustre Q2. If you’re looking for omens, Ferrari’s qualifying woes in Baku are as rare as a dry Monaco Grand Prix, but today the Scuderia found themselves on the wrong side of history.
Table: 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying Top 10
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:41.117 | First Baku pole |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.478s | Williams resurgence |
| 3 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.590s | Career-best Q3 |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.600s | Rookie sensation |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.953s | Solid recovery |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +1.026s | Quietly effective |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.122s | Below expectations |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +1.255s | Impressive rookie |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | No time | Crashed in Q3 |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | No time | Crashed in Q3 |
Red Flags, Broken Wings, and the Anatomy of Chaos
If you’re new to Baku, let me offer a brief history lesson. This is a circuit that has made a habit of turning qualifying into a war of attrition. In 2021 and 2022, we saw four red flags apiece, with drivers like Stroll, Giovinazzi, Ricciardo, and Tsunoda all falling foul of the city’s unforgiving geometry. Today, the record was not just broken—it was pulverised.
The session began with Alex Albon, a driver who had looked sharp all weekend, clattering into the wall at Turn 1. His Williams was left with broken suspension and a broken heart, starting twentieth. Franco Colapinto, Alpine’s rookie, followed suit at Turn 4, his crash further jeopardising his seat for next season. Oliver Bearman’s Haas met the wall in Q2, and by the time Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc had both found the barriers in Q3, the marshals were running out of red flags to wave.
As the rain began to fall in Q3—because, of course, it did—drivers tiptoed around the circuit, desperate to set a time before the next inevitable stoppage. Norris, usually so precise, couldn’t find the magic. Verstappen, however, did. In a session where survival was half the battle, he emerged not just unscathed, but triumphant.
It was a staggering qualifying session that lasted just shy of two hours ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Verstappen starts ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, with Lando Norris in his McLaren only seventh.RacingNews365 Staff
The Fall of the Usual Suspects: Ferrari’s Baku Nightmare
Ferrari’s relationship with Baku has always been complicated. Charles Leclerc, in particular, has made this circuit his own in qualifying, taking pole four times in succession from 2021 to 2024. But today, the Monegasque’s luck ran out. His crash in Q3 was eerily reminiscent of his infamous “I am stupid” moment in 2019, another day when the walls of Baku proved less forgiving than his own ambitions.
Lewis Hamilton, buoyed by a strong showing in practice, found himself unable to replicate that pace when it mattered. Three-tenths slower in Q2 than Q1, and six-tenths off his best from FP2, the seven-time champion will start twelfth—a position that will do little to silence the doubters questioning his move to Maranello.
Historically, Ferrari have rarely failed to reach Q3 in Baku, and major setbacks have been the exception rather than the rule. Leclerc’s crash in 2019 was the last time the Scuderia suffered such a blow in qualifying here. Today, history repeated itself, and not in the way they would have hoped.
Charles Leclerc crashed in Q3, bringing out the fifth red flag. After four successive poles at this track, he will start 10th. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton, quickest in practice on Friday, was unable to replicate that pace in qualifying. The seven-time F1 champion starts 12th.RacingNews365
Williams and Sainz: The Unexpected Heroes
If you had predicted at the start of the season that Williams would be locking out the front row in Baku, you’d have been laughed out of the paddock. Yet here we are, with Carlos Sainz delivering a lap that will be spoken of in hushed tones in the corridors of Grove. Williams, a team that has spent much of the turbo-hybrid era languishing in the midfield or worse, has found new life with Sainz at the wheel.
Sainz’s own history at Baku has been one of steady improvement, usually a Q3 regular but never a pole contender. Today, he was the best of the rest, and for a brief, rain-soaked moment, it looked as though he might even snatch pole from Verstappen. For a team and a driver both seeking redemption, this was a statement of intent.
Carlos Sainz makes Williams declaration after stunning Azerbaijan qualifying result.RacingNews365
The Young and the Restless: Lawson, Antonelli, and the New Guard
Liam Lawson’s third place for Racing Bulls is the kind of result that makes you sit up and take notice. In a session where experience counted for little and nerve counted for everything, Lawson kept his head while others lost theirs. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes’ rookie sensation, continued his impressive debut season with fourth, while George Russell’s fifth was a reminder that, in Baku, you take what you can get.
Isack Hadjar, another Racing Bulls rookie, made Q3 and starts eighth—a result that will do wonders for his confidence and his contract negotiations. Yuki Tsunoda, quietly effective as ever, put his Red Bull sixth, while Lando Norris, usually the darling of qualifying, was left to ponder what might have been.
Baku’s Place in the Pantheon of Chaos
Let’s put today’s events in context. Baku has always been a magnet for mayhem, but today’s six red flags set a new benchmark for qualifying carnage. For comparison, the previous record was four, set here in 2021 and 2022, and matched in Hungary 2016 and Turkey 2020 (albeit for different reasons—rain, not walls). The difference today was the sheer unpredictability: rain, crashes, and the ever-present threat of another red flag meant that no one could relax, not even for a moment.
Historically, the most chaotic qualifying sessions have been defined by their interruptions. Monza 2019 gave us the farce of the slipstream games, Istanbul 2020 the ice rink, and Spa 1998 the deluge. But Baku 2025 will be remembered as the day when the red flag became the most important piece of equipment in the pit lane.
The Starting Grid: A New World Order?
So what does this all mean for tomorrow’s race? Verstappen starts from pole, but with Sainz and Lawson alongside, and the likes of Norris and Leclerc out of position, the potential for more chaos is high. Piastri, the championship leader, starts ninth after his crash—a rare mistake in an otherwise flawless season. Hamilton, mired in twelfth, will need all his experience to salvage points.
If history is any guide, Baku races are rarely straightforward. The 2017 race gave us Ricciardo’s improbable win from tenth, the 2018 edition saw Bottas lose victory to a late puncture, and 2021 was a festival of crashes and heartbreak. Tomorrow promises more of the same.
Waste a bit more time
If you’re not yet sated by today’s drama, here are some links to keep you entertained until the lights go out:
- 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Baku Qualifying results (RacingNews365)
- LIVE: Red flag record smashed as Verstappen claims Baku pole; Piastri crashes (RacingNews365)
- Max Verstappen roars to stunning Azerbaijan GP pole after SIX qualifying red flags (RacingNews365)
- Watch Leclerc crash out of dramatic Baku Qualifying (Formula1.com)
- Carlos Sainz makes Williams declaration after stunning Azerbaijan qualifying result (RacingNews365)
And for those who prefer their drama in moving pictures, here’s a YouTube video of the qualifying highlights.
