Mercedes' George Russell takes thrilling pole for Azerbaijan Grand Prix

George Russell stamped his authority around Baku and cruised to pole position for Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver was lighting up the timing screens and went fastest in all three sectors to cross the line 0.837 seconds faster than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri edged out Red Bull's Isack Hadjar to the line to go third-fastest.

Lando Norris in the other McLaren stopped at Turn 3 in the final stages of the session and will start in fifth.

Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli suffered a major blow after hitting the wall and crashing out of Q1. The championship leader will start down in P16.

- Max Verstappen pips George Russell in closing stages of Azerbaijan GP final practice
- Kimi Antonelli hits wall and suffers early exit from Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying
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