Story summary
Kimi Antonelli surprisingly crashed out during qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, hitting the wall at the first corner and damaging his car's suspension, placing him 16th on the grid. His teammate George Russell secured pole position, despite Antonelli leading the Formula 1 standings by 81 points after 14 rounds.
Russell expressed confidence in his car's performance around the Baku City Circuit but acknowledged that Antonelli remains a threat due to previous performances from behind the starting grid. The race is set for Saturday, September 26, at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan, with temperatures expected to be warm and sunny. Apple TV offers a seven-day free trial to watch the race live streaming exclusively in the United States. Mercedes’ George Russell will start first ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri from McLaren starts third. The longest straight on the F1 calendar at Baku City Circuit highlights the importance of straight-line speed for this event. Despite Antonelli's poor qualifying position, he remains the championship leader and a contender for victory. Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr., Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Arvid Lindblad, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, and others will also compete. The race is an early one for U.S. viewers starting at 7 a.m. ET on September 26. Despite the large point deficit, Russell aims to narrow it with a strong performance in Baku.
Written for “Azerbaijan Grand Prix” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.
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F1 live updates: Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku City Circuit
Oscar Piastri starts the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from third on the grid, with Mercedes' George Russell on pole.
World championship leader Kimi Antonelli starts 16th after a crash in qualifying.
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Antonelli → start → qualifying
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Russell won't rule out Antonelli surge
Mercedes pole sitter George Russell has refused to rule out teammate Kimi Antonelli as a threat to his victory hopes in today's race, despite the championship leader starting in 16th.
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leader → choose → 16th
"Obviously, you can’t discount Kimi," Russell said
"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,” Russell added.
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Russell → discount → laps
I think he was only half joking, too.
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he → think → ?
That being said, Russell has looked good around the Baku Circuit this weekend, so should be confident of recording what would be an eighth Grand Prix victory.
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what → say → Circuit
"I've been feeling in a great spot this whole weekend," said Russell said.
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said → feel → spot
"You know, I'm just getting more and more on top of this car and what it requires, and it's just all feeling more intuitive.
"
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it → know → what
I'm feeling good.
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I → feel → ?
"I think we're in a great place to go for the win but, of course, this is Baku and anything can happen ... but whatever happens, I feel confident that we can go for the win."
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we → think → win
- with Reuters
'Stupid' crash brings Antonelli 'back to Earth'
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crash → bring → Earth
Kimi Antonelli called the mistake that put him out of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix "stupid" and said it had brought him back down to earth.
The 20-year-old leads Mercedes teammate George Russell by 81 points in the overall standings after 14 rounds, clobbered the wall at the first corner in the opening phase of qualifying and had to park up with a broken suspension.
He will start 16th with Russell storming to a dominant pole.
"I hit the wall and very unnecessary mistake so early on," the Italian told F1TV.
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Italian → call → F1TV
"It's a good way to come back to earth and to remind myself that I need to be on top of it every time because otherwise I do these mistakes and a very stupid one."
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I → come → mistakes
Antonelli came into the weekend gunning for his third straight win and ninth of the season so far.
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Antonelli → come → season
But a hydraulics issue during opening practice on Thursday cost the Italian valuable track time.
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issue → open → time
He has trailed Russell, who has looked far more at ease around the 6km Baku street track, ever since.
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who → trail → track
Nevertheless, he is hoping the speed of the Mercedes can help him fight back.
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him → hop → Mercedes
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow," said Antonelli, who went from 19th to first at his home Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
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who → look → Monza
"Hopefully we can recover many places.
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we → recover → places
Hopefully tomorrow is going to be a good race."
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tomorrow → go → ?
How George Russell earned pole
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Russell → earn → pole
Key Event
What happened in qualifying?
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What → happen → qualifying
Mercedes' George Russell took an absolutely dominant pole position in yesterday's session.
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Russell → take → session
The British driver beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 0.837 seconds into second around the testing Baku City Circuit.
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driver → beat → Circuit
"That's probably the biggest margin I've had in my whole career," Russell said.
"
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Russell → have → career
The lap felt really sweet and the car has been feeling great all weekend."
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car → feel → ?
Australia's Oscar Piastri qualified his McLaren in third, with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar joining him on the second row of the grid.
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Hadjar → qualify → grid
Hadjar has missed the last three Grands Prix in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain with a wrist fracture, so it was a welcome return for him.
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it → miss → him
Lando Norris, who also went off track but in the final phase of qualifying, will start fifth, starting alongside his fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton in sixth.
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who → go → sixth
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) are seventh and eighth, with Franco Colapinto (Alpine) in ninth and Oliver Bearman (Haas) rounding out the top 10.
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Colapinto → round → 10
Carlos Sainz (Williams) had made it into the final phase of qualifying but was hit with a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags.
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Sainz → make → flags
The big story was runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli hitting the wall at Turn One and crashing out.
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Antonelli → hit → Turn
It was not a big shunt, but cost him any chance of fighting for a spot in the top 10, meaning the 20-year-old Italian will start 16th.
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Italian → cost → top
Key Event
What time does the race start?
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race → start → ?
The race gets underway at 9:00pm AEST.
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race → get → AEST
It's an 8:30pm lights out in the Northern Territory and South Australia, while you lucky ducks in Western Australia can watch over dinner, with the race start at 7:00pm.
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you → watch → 7:00pm
My name is not Michael Doyle, who is away this weekend, so you're stuck with me, Simon Smale, for what has regularly proven to be one of the most exciting races on the calendar, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Yes it's a Saturday, so it might take a bit of time to warm yourself up into F1-mode (we'll get into why this race is taking place on Saturday and not Sunday in a minute or two) but we'll do our best to get you into the mood as soon as we can.
Let's start now, shall we?
uncertain
we → prove → mood
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