Max Verstappen claimed a dramatic pole position for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but the reigning world champion admitted it was one of the most demanding qualifying sessions of his career.
In a stop-start shootout littered with crashes, red flags, and even a sprinkling of rain, Verstappen held his nerve to deliver a last-gasp lap that denied Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson the chance of a shock front row in Baku.
The Red Bull driver described the qualifying session as a relentless test of concentration and patience, with repeated stoppages breaking momentum and tyre preparation.
“I think it was just a very long qualifying in general with all the red flags, so you never got into a rhythm,” Verstappen explained.
“Trying to complete laps was already difficult enough with what was going on, so getting the tyres in the window anyway in your warm-up lap, your out lap is very tough around here.
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“So honestly, I was quite happy with how Q1 and Q2 was going. But yeah, Q3 was a very long wait.
“And then choosing what tyres to use also for the final run, there was a bit of rain around in places, so not easy at all. But at the end, yeah, of course, very happy to sit here.”
Wrestling with the Winds
If the red flags weren’t enough, Verstappen had to fight the elements as strong gusts blew across the 6km Baku layout.
“Yeah, I mean, this track is already hard enough without anything, so with the strong winds that we had today, car was moving around a lot, understeer, oversteer in different places on the straight, going left to right,” he said.
“So yeah, to basically nail everything, but also then the big interruptions that we had was just very tricky today. But luckily, I think we did quite well.”
Eyes on Sunday
The four-time world champion was delighted with pole but played down suggestions that it guarantees him victory on Sunday, pointing to the looming challenge of tyre management.
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“Yeah, difficult to say at the moment. Of course, it’s a good starting position,” Verstappen cautioned. “We just have to try and do our own race, to be honest.
“Hopefully, the car is kind on its tyres, that we can look after them and just go from there.”
With the championship leader Oscar Piastri starting only ninth after crashing out in Q3, Verstappen’s path to back-to-back wins in 2025 is open – but the world champion is under no illusions that Baku’s streets will make him work for it.
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