George Russell 'shocked' by Azerbaijan GP pole: 'The biggest margin in my whole career'

George Russell has said he was "shocked" when he learned he had secured pole position by the biggest margin of his career during Friday's qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Russell took pole by 0.837 seconds from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in second place -- the largest gap between the top two in F1 qualifying since Max Verstappen secured pole by 1.244 seconds in a wet session at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.

The Baku pole margin is the biggest of Russell's career -- including his performances in F1's support series, Formula 2 and GP3.

"It's been a while, so it definitely feels good," Russell said of his first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix in June. "It's probably the biggest margin in my whole career, even including F2, F3 days.

"So the lap felt really sweet, the car's been feeling great this weekend. And on a track like this, when you can hug it up like that, it feels really amazing."

Russell is currently second in the drivers' championship and 81 points adrift of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who crashed during qualifying in Baku and will start from 16th on Saturday's grid.

Russell said Friday's result builds on progress he has made since F1's summer break, but still came as a surprise.

"I mean I've been filling in a great spot this whole weekend," he said. "I felt confident, I felt hooked up -- as I've said recently I'm just getting more and more on top of this car and what it requires and it's just all feeling more intuitive.

"When I crossed the line I saw the gap, I was shocked. I knew the lap was great, I had a nice slipstream at the end which gave me an extra probably tenth and a half, two tenths and it just all perfectly came together."

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But Russell played down suggestions that the combination of his strong performance and Antonelli's mistake could mark a turning point in the championship battle.

"I think the performance outside today was great, but, you know, he [Antonelli] has been flawless this whole season," Russell said. "I think when you look at every championship campaign, even for the winners, there are mistakes along the way. So, yeah, I still keep on believing and keep on fighting until it isn't possible anymore.

"But I don't feel any pressure. I feel excitement every time I jump in the car now, purely because I feel more confident in myself. And we spoke about it on Wednesday here: when that confidence starts to build, it's just like this upward cycle. On the flip side, when you're on the back foot, you start losing that confidence and then you start pushing the limits more, and that's when mistakes happen.

"But, as I said, he's been flawless this season. It's the first mistake he's made in a qualifying or race this whole year. So, yeah, let's see tomorrow."