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.
- Published
For George Russell, this one felt like vindication, proof that he had "come through the other side" and was back to his best after what he acknowledged was a "real tough period" during this Formula 1 season.
asserted
he → publish → season
The Mercedes driver's victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off Red Bull's Max Verstappen in one of the closest finishes in history, was his first since the end of June - seven races ago.
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victory → hold → June
In that time, team-mate Kimi Antonelli has won three times, to take his tally of victories to eight for the season.
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Antonelli → win → season
So Russell needed this, his third victory, in a year that he started as championship favourite.
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he → need → favourite
Instead, Antonelli has taken the season by the throat and all but crushed the life out of Russell's hopes.
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Antonelli → take → hopes
Now, though, a glimmer of hope still exists for Russell, even if he is too realistic to think too much about it for now.
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he → exist → it
His win, combined with Antonelli's fifth place after what the Italian admitted was his "worst weekend of the year in terms of performance"
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Italian → combine → performance
That's still huge, with either seven or eight races still to go, and 25 points for a win.
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That → go → win
But it's a lot better than the 81-point margin Russell faced before Baku.
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Russell → face → Baku
"My team-mate's had an incredible season," Russell said.
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Russell → have → season
"He's been pretty flawless throughout, but now we're getting to crunch time.
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we → get → time
"But I'm just going to focus on myself.
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I → go → myself
You know, if I continue delivering performances like I've done this weekend, no matter what happens towards the end of the season, I'll be happy.
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I → know → season
"
With the grand prix brought forward 24 hours from the usual Sunday slot, it was an appropriate result for a man whose prowess in qualifying has earned him the nickname 'Mr Saturday'.
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prowess → bring → nickname
He dominated the intra-team battle last year, but the tables have turned dramatically this season, as Antonelli felt immediately at home in the new Mercedes after the biggest rule changes in F1 history, and the Briton very much did not.
For Russell, the blows have kept coming.
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blows → dominate → Russell
Every apparent revival was met with another setback.
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revival → meet → setback
Every time he felt he had made progress, Antonelli's apparently effortless way of extracting that little bit more from the car chastened him.
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way → feel → him
No experience was more painful than the Italian Grand Prix at Monza two races ago, when Russell started from the front row, and Antonelli 19th after a grid penalty.
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Russell → start → penalty
Russell knew it was a golden opportunity to make up ground.
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it → know → ground
Instead, it was Antonelli who won the race, with what will go down as one of the greatest drives in history.
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what → win → history
Russell looked on the verge of tears after that one.
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Russell → look → one
But he kept the belief, and in Baku it all came together.
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it → keep → Baku
Antonelli 'wasn't really present'
Russell was a man on a mission all weekend, fastest from the moment he took to the track, while Antonelli, after losing half the two hours of practice on the first day, lost his cool.
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Antonelli → take → cool
He made a mistake in qualifying, took a wheel off on an inside wall, and started 16th.
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He → make → wall
There was to be no repeat of Monza, even if fifth was a very creditable comeback result.
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fifth → be → Monza
"I felt always a step behind," Antonelli said, "and especially with the mistake in qualifying the confidence level was not high and today was about damage limitation.
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today → feel → limitation
I wasn't really present, especially with what happened so early on and just didn't take the same risks, especially after qualifying.
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what → happen → qualifying
I just make sure next weekend we get back in the right level."
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we → make → level
If he does, this will go down as a blip in an otherwise stunningly impressive breakthrough season by a potential future great.
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this → do → future
In 2025, McLaren's Oscar Piastri arrived in Azerbaijan apparently in control of the championship, and possessing a big lead over team-mate Lando Norris, albeit less than half what Antonelli's is now.
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Antonelli → arrive → Norris
But Piastri had some kind of meltdown on the streets of Baku, what he described after arriving back in the city this week as "the worst race of my career".
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he → have → career
And after that, the wheels came off for the Australian, and he was overtaken by the end of the year not only by Norris, but also by Verstappen.
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he → come → Verstappen
There is no reason to believe Antonelli will suffer the same fate.
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Antonelli → be → fate
But he still has something to process in the few days before taking to the track again in Malaysia on Friday.
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he → have → Friday
'The most dominant weekend I've had in my career'
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I → have → career
This was the first time Russell has produced a weekend like this all year, when he was simply superior.
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he → produce → this
Before, even when he won, Antonelli was right there with him, sometimes even faster.
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Antonelli → win → him
How did Russell do this?
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Russell → do → this
It has taken hard work and analysis on his part and with his engineers.
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It → take → engineers
He hasn't been comfortable in this year's car, feeling it does not suit his driving style, so he has had to put in the effort to make the driving feel natural.
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driving → feel → effort
…and 29 more, not listed.
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