Russell was in a class of his own when it mattered most, setting a blistering 1:42.526 in Q3 to finish 0.837 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The margin was particularly impressive around the Baku City Circuit, where slipstreaming and tiny gains can make a significant difference.

Leclerc secured second place, edging McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by just one thousandth of a second. Piastri will start third, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar continuing his strong return to Formula 1 by qualifying fourth.

Kimi Antonelli - F1

Lando Norris completed the top five, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto.

However, the biggest talking point of the session came much earlier.

Antonelli, who leads the championship, crashed into the wall at Turn 1 during Q1. The impact damaged the front-left suspension and, although his earlier lap was good enough to see him through to Q2, Mercedes could not repair the car in time for him to continue. He was therefore classified 16th and faces a difficult task in Saturday’s race.

For Russell, it was a remarkable turnaround after a season in which Antonelli has often been the Mercedes driver grabbing the headlines. The Briton was quick throughout qualifying and continued to find time in Q3, ultimately putting together what he described as a near-perfect lap.

Russell said afterwards, describing the car as feeling particularly strong around the challenging Baku circuit.

“The car’s been feeling great this weekend, and on a track like this, when you can hook it up like that, it feels really amazing,” said Russell after taking pole.

Charles Leclerc - F1

“I was feeling good, to be honest. I think Max has been very fast this weekend. I don’t know what happened to him at the end. I think with the yellow flag for Lando, he didn’t have that last chance, so it would have been interesting to see.

“But it was just the perfect lap at the end. I was in a good gap behind [Isack] Hadjar, which gave me a nice little slipstream, probably by another tenth or two down this back straight. So yeah, it was great.”

Behind the top 10, Oliver Bearman qualified 11th, followed by Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Arvid Lindblad.

Max Verstappen - F1

The two Audi drivers struggled, with Gabriel Bortoleto 17th and Nico Hülkenberg 18th, while Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas were classified 20th and 22nd respectively.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualified outside the top 20 and will start at the back after grid penalties linked to power-unit component changes.

Lights out for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku is at 13:00 South African time.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport