George Russell secured pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, according to Car and Driver, putting in a dominant qualifying performance for Mercedes at the Baku City Circuit on Friday.
His teammate Kimi Antonelli made contact with the wall and eliminated himself from the session, the outlet reported. The crash leaves the Mercedes driver set to line up 16th on the grid, per MARCA, which described it as the young driver's first major mistake.
Carlos Sainz will start ninth, according to SoyMotor.com, while Motorsport.com España noted that the championship leader will begin the race from 16th.
The session was covered by several outlets, with Diario AS publishing full qualifying results and the grid positions for Sainz and Fernando Alonso.
Antonelli's error stands out as the defining moment of an otherwise commanding day for Mercedes, with Russell's margin described as overwhelming by Car and Driver. The Italian driver's wall contact ended his session early and left him with a recovery drive ahead of him.
The grid order sets up a race in which Russell starts from the front while the championship leader faces a climb through the field from 16th.
What to watch next: whether Russell can convert pole into a win on Baku's long straights, and how far the championship leader can recover from 16th.
