Qualifying seemed to go on for ever, with a record number of red flags, plenty of yellow ones and a few drops of rain. It finally ended with yet another pole position for Max Verstappen, his very first fastest qualifying lap at this track. It was only in the closing moments that the Red Bull driver managed to get under the 1’41”595 set by Williams’ Carlos Sainz, with a best time of 1’41”117. This was Verstappen’s sixth pole of the season, his 46th in total. Red Bull Racing’s first pole in Baku was its 109th.

Tomorrow, Carlos Sainz will line up on the front row of the grid for the 15th time in his career, six of those being pole positions. Liam Lawson was third for Racing Bulls, his best ever qualifying, in a time of 1’41”707. Alongside him will be Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) just one hundredth slower than the New Zealander. The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Verstappen by Janelle Zharmenova. The content creator from Kazakhstan has over two and a half million followers on TikTok and 600 thousand on Instagram, where she shares her tips on fashion and beauty.