Baku Race Day: Russell on Pole, Antonelli Starts 16th, and McLaren Struggles as F1 Circus Buzzes With Off-Track Drama

The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes centre stage in Baku today, with George Russell starting from pole position as the field prepares for what promises to be an eventful race on the streets of the Azerbaijani capital. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, however, faces a difficult afternoon after being consigned to 16th on the grid following a crash during qualifying.

Antonelli hit the inside wall at Turn 1 during his second Q1 push lap, ending his session early. Despite the setback, Max Verstappen was among those to offer the young Mercedes driver public support. "People forget how young he is," Verstappen said, according to Motorsport.com, noting that Antonelli had enjoyed a strong European leg of the season — an area that had been a weakness for him the previous year. Verstappen himself is not without concerns heading into the race, with Crash.net reporting that he is likely to face an engine penalty before the season is over following qualifying problems of his own in Baku.

McLaren also endured a difficult weekend, with Motorsport.com reporting that the team's major upgrade has struggled to perform on the Baku street circuit. Lando Norris described the MCL40 as "miles off" after Thursday practice, where he ended the session 1.5 seconds adrift. The underwhelming qualifying result stands in stark contrast to the team's recent form, which had yielded three pole positions in the last four rounds.

Off the track, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the pressures of his role, admitting "it's hard to work at Ferrari" amid swirling rumours about his future at the Italian outfit, per Crash.net. Elsewhere, former world champion David Coulthard drew attention for remarks directed at Charles Leclerc, telling the Monégasque driver that F1 is not a "picnic" in comments relating to Leclerc's family attending races — a story that Crash.net described as a "bizarre" dog criticism. And 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve delivered a blunt assessment of Esteban Ocon's prospects, telling Motorsport.com that he believes the Frenchman's grand prix career will end when his current stint with Haas concludes, arguing Ocon is running out of options on the grid.