F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Full starting gird after penalties

This is the full starting grid for the 2026 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

George Russell starts from pole position for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a commanding performance in qualifying. 

The Mercedes driver was in a league of his own and ended up a whopping 0.837 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who joins him on the front row of the Baku grid. Both drivers are searching for their first victories in Azerbaijan. 

Oscar Piastri was the fastest McLaren driver and goes from third, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar lining up fourth on the second row following an impressive qualifying performance following his return from a wrist injury that has kept him out of the past three races. 

The third row will be made up of reigning world champion Lando Norris for McLaren, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who was a frustrated sixth in qualifying after the seven-time world champion was compromised from not gaining a tow on either of his Q3 laps.

Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen share row four for Alpine and Red Bull respectively, while Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman complete the top-10 starters for Saturday’s 51-lap race in the Euro-Asia country. 

The Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have been sent to the very back of the grid after changing multiple power unit components in their respective AMR28s. 

Carlos Sainz was hit with a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags, dropping him from a season's-best ninth on the grid to 14th. 

Sergio Perez was issued a three-place grid penalty for impeding Piastri during the first part of qualifying. 

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place at 12pm UK time on Saturday.