Crazy 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying as it happened

Here's Alex Albon's view of his qualifying-ending crash that leaves him 20th.

“A bit [of a] rookie error, let’s say. I think I was first out on my first push, so I was the first car through Turn 1, and had absolutely no grip, and then when I came back lap later, had huge grip," he said. 

“I can’t blame anyone but myself. It was a bit a of a silly error. It’s a shame because we’ve been really quick all weekend.”

The start of Q2 will be delayed as the Tecpro barriers at T4 need fixing after Franco Colapinto's crash. 

A nightmare session for Alpine, with both drivers dropping out in the first part of qualifying.

The five drivers eliminated in Q1 are: 

16) Franco Colapinto
17) Nico Hulkenberg 
18) Esteban Ocon 
19) Pierre Gasly
20) Alex Albon 

In fact, Colapinto has ruined his own lap, smashing his Alpine into the Turn 4 barriers. 

A bad few moments for the Alpine team there, with Gasly going down the run-off just further up the road. 

Isack Hadjar - the favourite for a Red Bull drive next year - goes fifth fastest with a big late improvement. 

Antonelli does improve as he hauls himself up to seventh. He can breathe a sigh of relief, for now. 

Kimi Antonelli had to abort his first run and does not have a time to his name.

The Mercedes driver is currently 20th and last as he gears up for a run on softs. 

Toto Wolff has just come over team radio to encourage Antonelli, saying: "You know, Kimi, you have tonnes of time. Just one clean lap."

Lewis Hamilton is fastest from Oscar Piastri as we get back underway in Q1.

Lance Stroll's Aston Martin, Alex Albon, the Sauber duo of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg, and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli are the drivers at risk of elimination.

Albon will definitely be out following his session-ending crash. 

A close call for Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, who has narrowly avoided crashing at Turn 15 as he got away with a brush with the tech-pro barriers on his first flying lap.

Williams' Alex Albon is the first driver to set a lap time and it's a 1m43.778s. 

All 20 cars are now out on track so things will change quickly. 

Charles Leclerc absolutely loves this circuit over one lap. The Ferrari driver has remarkably claimed pole position at the last four races in Azerbaijan and is gunning for the front row once again this year. 

Despite his incredible qualifying record around Baku, Leclerc has never won here and was defeated by McLaren's Oscar Piastri 12 months ago.

George Russell came into the weekend unwell and has been battling a fever which forced him to skip media duties on Thursday in Baku. 

But the Mercedes driver's performance hasn't been impacted, with Russell sixth and one place behind teammate Kimi Antonelli in the timesheets during final practice earlier today. 

“He came into the weekend with a fever, with a sore throat, could barely talk on the radio on Friday. The fact that he was feeling well enough to actually be complaining on the radio about the car just shows you how much he’s improved overnight," Sky Sports F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz reported.

“It’s a sore throat, it’s a fever, we don’t know if it’s anything more than that. We don’t know if it’s the kind of illness that would have seen him ruled out of racing a few years ago. But whatever is wrong with him, it hasn’t been affecting his driving.”

We are just 30 minutes away from qualifying in Baku, and it is set to be a fascinating battle for pole position. 

McLaren's Lando Norris set the pace in final practice but Red Bull's Max Verstappen wasn't far behind, just 0.222 seconds adrift. 

Oscar Piastri was third in the other McLaren, while Ferrari have shown encouraging pace indicating they could be a factor in the pole fight. 

Lewis Hamilton ended up fourth, while Charles Leclerc, who has taken the last four poles in Baku, did not complete a final flying lap on soft tyres as he finished 10th. 

F1 has announced the extension of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on a new four-year deal that will keep Baku on the calendar through to 2030. 

“There’s an incredible energy to the city of Baku and since our first Grand Prix here in 2016 Formula 1 has consistently received a warm and enthusiastic welcome from the people of Azerbaijan," said F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali. 

"The circuit is unique, with technical sections and long straights that run through the stunning shoreline and historic old town, delivering an eventful and entertaining race every year. 

"This renewal reflects the strong trust and commitment between Formula 1, the Azerbaijani Government, and the promoter, and paves the way for an exciting future in the country." 

Flavio Briatore has confirmed that just two drivers are in the running to land the second Alpine F1 seat alongside Pierre Gasly for the 2026 season. 

Either current holder Franco Colapinto, or reserve driver Paul Aron, will get the nod for next year. 

“It’s between Franco and Paul [Aron],” Briatore told The Race. “Paul is a very nice guy, a very quick driver as well. And I need to understand what is the best for the team, you know?"

A better lap from Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who improves to go third, 0.276s down on Norris.

Could we see Max Verstappen's Red Bull and the Ferraris challenge McLaren in qualifying?

Late improvements for Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, who go second and third-fastest respectively. 

Verstappen is 0.222s down on Lando Norris, with Piastri 0.315s slower than his McLaren teammate. 

Some work for Piastri to do heading into qualifying later. 

A scruffy end to FP3 for Oscar Piastri, who has ruined his next soft tyre lap by running straight on down at Turn 1.