Time to take a breather after a truly remarkable qualifying, lasting two hours and featuring no fewer than six red flags and a multitude of crashes.
That brings our live coverage on Saturday to a close, but keep it on Crash.net for all the best reaction to that chaotic qualifying in Baku.
We will be back from 11am tomorrow to build up to the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which promises to a thriller with a mixed up grid.
"Long qualifying with so many red flags, so it was very difficult to get your lap together because most of the time your tyres were not really ready, or a red flag happened.
"Especially Q3, with also a bit of rain around, it was a very difficult session. In the final lap, you just have to send it. I wasn’t even on the best tyres that I wanted, because of all the red flags you basically run out of tyres.
"I’m very happy with how the weekend has gone so far. From FP1, we were not too bad and we just kept on improving a tiny amount, and then we were there in qualifying, which is of course when it matters.
"I think we definitely were in there for pole [regardless of the weather]. Of course, Q3 is always a bit messy for everyone. I’m just happy, it seems like since Monza we are doing a better job and I hope that we can continue in that way.
"[It's a] long race. You want to have a good start, but even then, we just need to do our own race, look after our tyres because it’s tough on the tyres here with the softer compounds, and then we’ll see what happens."
| 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Qualifying Results | ||||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m41.331s | 1m41.255s | 1m41.117s |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m42.635s | 1m41.675s | 1m41.595s |
| 3 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m42.257s | 1m41.537s | 1m41.707s |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m42.247s | 1m41.464s | 1m41.717s |
| 5 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m41.646s | 1m41.455s | 1m42.070s |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m42.347s | 1m41.788s | 1m42.143s |
| 7 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m41.322s | 1m41.396s | 1m42.239s |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m41.656s | 1m41.647s | 1m43.372s |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m41.839s | 1m41.414s | |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m41.458s | 1m41.519s | |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m41.211s | 1m41.857s | |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m41.821s | 1m42.183s | |
| 13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m42.511s | 1m42.277s | |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m42.101s | 1m43.061s | |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m42.666s | No Time Set | |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m42.779s | ||
| 17 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m42.916s | ||
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m43.004s | ||
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m43.139s | ||
| 20 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m43.778s | ||
We were talking about a golden opportunity for Lando Norris but he wasn't able to take it.
The Briton brushed the wall at Turn 15 and only managed to qualify seventh - just two places ahead of Piastri who crashed earlier in Q3.
Max Verstappen has done it!
While others struggled to improve, it's the reigning world champion who takes pole with a 1m41.117s.
Carlos Sainz is a stunning second for Williams, ahead of Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls.
Late drama as the rain starts to fall again...
We have just over three minutes left on the clock as Q3 resumes, meaning the remaining eight drivers will only get one shot at determining their grid spots for Sunday's Grand Prix.
Strap yourselves in folks, this is it...
Oscar Piastri's rare error has presented teammate Lando Norris with a golden opportunity here in Baku if the McLaren driver can go on to take pole position.
That is arguably the first mistake Piastri has made since he ran wide in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
A reminder that Piastri leads Norris by 31 points in the championship.
We have a sixth red flag and it's a potentially huge moment in the title race as championship leader Oscar Piastri crashes.
A rare mistake from the Australian, who is out of qualifying and will surely start no higher than ninth on the grid.
The McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are on softs.
In contrasting strategies, Max Verstappen has gone for mediums. So too have the Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
We are back underway for the remaining minutes of qualifying.
It's bad news for Carlos Sainz and Williams, whose rain dance doesn't seem to be working as the sun comes back out from behind the clouds.
We should be getting back underway shortly.
Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar were the only drivers to set competitive lap times before the red flag.
There is still seven minutes left on the clock but the track is slippery.
With Sainz on provisional pole position, Williams in particular will be doing a rain dance...
Charles Leclerc has crashed out of qualifying at Turn 15!
He has not got a lap time in and that means he will start 10th, with Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton down in 12th.
Horror session for Ferrari and there will be no fifth consecutive pole for Leclerc in Baku.
Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen are reporting that it is beginning to rain in Baku...
Q3 and the battle for pole position is underway. Who will claim it in Baku? It's time to find out.
The drivers out in Q2 are:
11) Fernando Alonso
12) Lewis Hamilton
13) Gabriel Bortoleto
14) Lance Stroll
15) Oliver Bearman
Lewis Hamilton is eliminated in 12th. Having looked so strong so far this weekend, that is a huge disappointment and shock.
Lewis Hamilton has improved again but it was only good enough for 10th.
Improvements for Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso have shuffled Hamilton down into 12th.
Lando Norris has the benchmark time with a 1m41.396s.
Max Verstappen goes second, ahead of the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Things aren't getting much better for Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton can only go 10th, while teammate Charles Leclerc has blown another lap with a second error.
Charles Leclerc ruins his first lap by running straight on at Turn 1.
He has also inadvertently spoiled his teammate Lewis Hamilton's lap too. Hamilton was just behind him and so had to abort due to the yellow flags.
A nightmare start to Q2 for Ferrari.
Back to green flag conditions as Q2 gets going. Let's see how long for...
We have had another red flag here as Oliver Bearman stops on track after tagging the wall.
That's the fourth red flag of qualifying - so far!
