BAKU, Azerbaijan — Max Verstappen secured pole position while championship points leader Oscar Piastri crashed out in qualifying for Formula 1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a marathon session Saturday with multiple mishaps, rain and a record six red flags.
Red Bull’s Verstappen, the four-time reigning F1 champion, was fastest by less than half a second (.478) ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr. in a session that ran an hour past its scheduled time, longer than most grand prix races, due to all the crashes. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls will start Sunday’s race third, the best grid position in the 23-year-old New Zealander’s fledgling career on the international open-wheel circuit.
“You just have to send it,” Verstappen said of his final lap, trying to beat a time Sainz had set in much drier conditions.
Piastri slammed into the barrier while chasing pole position on a track left slippery by earlier rainfall. Lando Norris, his McLaren teammate, was only seventh after clipping the wall on his final lap and couldn’t take full advantage of Piastri’s error.
“I just braked a little bit late,” Piastri told broadcaster Sky Sports. “Disappointing way to end.”
The 24-year-old Australian briefly perched on a chair trackside as he took in the consequences of a rare mistake in this year’s title battle. He leads second-place Norris, his 25-year-old British teammate, by 31 points.
Piastri qualified ninth after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also crashed earlier while seeking what would have been a fifth consecutive pole position in Azerbaijan.
Lewis Hamilton showed he had strong pace by going fastest in Friday’s second practice session, but it was yet another disappointing qualifying session for the seven-time F1 champion in his first season with Ferrari as he ended up 12th.
For a few minutes, the Williams team dreamed of its first pole position in 11 years.
Sainz was fastest of only three drivers who had set valid times when Leclerc crashed as the rain started to fall. If it kept raining during the red-flag stoppage, no one would be able to beat his time.
“You can start dancing to see if it rains a bit harder, no?” Sainz told Williams over the radio as the session was stopped.
His chances went up when there was a second red flag for Piastri’s crash, just as Verstappen was poised to beat his time, but the 27-year-old Dutch driver — known for his skill in the rain — snatched the pole with his final attempt.
The first of the six red flags was for Alex Albon stopping his Williams after he clipped the wall, and another came when Nico Hulkenberg slid into a barrier and left half of his Sauber’s front wing there. There was a third red flag for a bizarre incident involving both Alpine drivers.
Pierre Gasly missed a turn and stopped in an escape road. Seconds later, his teammate Franco Colapinto hit the wall nearby, seemingly in surprise at seeing Gasly stuck at the side of the track. Alpine’s executive advisor — and de facto team head — Flavio Briatore was seen gesturing in disbelief as both of his drivers were eliminated from the session.
The fourth red flag came when Oliver Bearman stopped his damaged Haas on track. That was before the crashes by Leclerc and Piastri brought the final two stoppages.