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Kimi Antonelli Azerbaijan GP hopes took an early hit on Saturday when the Mercedes rookie crashed into the wall during Q1 in Baku. The impact leaves him 16th on the grid for Sunday’s race, a long way back from where his pace through the weekend had suggested he might start.
George Russell made the most of it at the other end of the Mercedes garage. He claimed pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri third. Max Verstappen could only manage eighth for Red Bull after reporting problems with his car through the session.
Primary Source Attribution & Official Details
Antonelli was honest about his own mistake once he climbed out of the car. “I misjudged with the grip being so different compared to the first lap. I hit the wall. Unnecessary mistake early on,” he said, as quoted by the BBC Sport report.
He did not try to hide from it afterwards either. “So it’s a good way to come back to earth and to remind myself I need to be on top of it every time because otherwise I do these mistakes and a very stupid one,” he added.
Russell backed his team mate straight away. “You can’t discount Kimi. You know, started 19th in Monza and now he’s in 16th, so, yeah, he should be leading by a few laps early this time,” he said.
Squad Impact & Tactical Context
Antonelli’s difficult Saturday follows a testing week in Baku. His Mercedes suffered a hydraulic leak during Thursday’s first practice, cutting his running short and leaving him well behind the rest of the field before qualifying even began; our Thursday FP1 breakdown covered just how little track time he managed.
Russell, by contrast, went into qualifying full of confidence after a strong practice performance in FP2 on Friday. Asked whether championship pressure played a part in Antonelli’s error, he pointed to how consistent his team mate has been all year.
“When you look at every championship campaign, even for the winners, there are mistakes along the way. So, I still keep on believing and keep on fighting until it isn’t possible any more. But I don’t feel any pressure. I feel excitement every time I jump in the car now, purely because I feel more confident in myself. When that confidence starts to build, it’s just like this upward cycle. On the flip side, when you’re on the back foot, you start losing that confidence and then you start pushing the limits more, and that’s when mistakes happen. But he’s been flawless this season. It’s the first mistake he’s made in a qualifying or race this whole year.”
Antonelli has spoken before about the racecraft lessons learned from Verstappen, and Russell’s defence of him on Saturday suggests Mercedes still trust him to recover ground once the race gets going.
Red Bull had their own frustrations to deal with. Verstappen qualified eighth after reporting engine power drops and battery charging issues throughout the session.
“The whole weekend we were running really well and then we run into so much trouble in qualifying. It’s not good enough. Looking at George’s lap, I don’t think we would have fought for pole but there is a big gap behind and we should have slotted in to that easily. But when you have that many issues you also don’t deserve to be there. We need to be more robust and we need to be on top of these things,” he said.
What Happens Next / Upcoming Timeline
Attention now shifts to Sunday’s race in Baku. Antonelli starts 16th, but Russell’s comments suggest Mercedes expect him to move forward quickly once the lights go out. The team will want a cleaner weekend after Saturday’s setback.
Russell starts from pole with Leclerc and Piastri completing the front two rows, and the Kimi Antonelli Azerbaijan GP recovery drive will be one of the stories worth following once the race gets underway. Verstappen and Red Bull will also be looking for answers to the power issues that cost them a shot at the front row.
