Kimi Antonelli crashed out of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix today, damaging his Mercedes and ensuring a start from 16th position for Saturday’s race. The championship leader misjudged Turn 1, hitting the wall and sustaining damage to his front-left wheel and suspension. His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, instructed him to stop the car, deeming the damage too extensive for a quick repair to continue in Q3.
This incident marks Antonelli’s first significant error in the 2026 season. He currently leads the Drivers’ Championship with 292 points, holding an 81-point advantage over his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who sits on 211 points. Lewis Hamilton is third in the standings with 191 points.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend schedule was brought forward by one day, with qualifying taking place on Friday, September 25, and the race on Saturday, September 26. This alteration was made to avoid a clash with Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day, observed on Sunday, September 27.
Strong winds significantly impacted the qualifying session at the Baku City Circuit. Gusts were predicted to reach up to 70-76 km/h, making car control challenging and affecting aerodynamic stability.
Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, expressed his dissatisfaction with Formula 1’s proposal to shorten race distances from 2027. The plan involves reducing standard race lengths from 305km to 290km.
‘I think the races should be longer because the races are physically easier than ever before. So shortening I don’t think makes much sense.’
Hamilton argued that races should be extended to maintain the physical and mental demands on drivers. The proposed change is intended to mitigate the need for costly chassis redesigns due to increased fuel consumption with the new 2027 power unit regulations.
Earlier in the weekend, Antonelli experienced a hydraulic problem during FP1, which necessitated an engine change for FP2. This engine change utilized an existing power unit from his pool, incurring no grid penalty. George Russell topped both FP1 and FP2 sessions. Max Verstappen then set the fastest time in FP3, ahead of Russell and Hamilton.
McLaren’s Lando Norris described his team’s pace as ‘pants’ after practice, noting they were 1.5 seconds off the leading pace. Williams, however, demonstrated improved performance with recent upgrades, securing a Q3 appearance. Oliver Bearman was narrowly eliminated from Q2 by Franco Colapinto. Audi, Aston Martin, and Cadillac cars were positioned in the bottom six during qualifying.
Christian Horner, who departed Red Bull in July 2025, made his first paddock appearance since his exit at the British Grand Prix earlier this year. He has been linked with various F1 projects, indicating a potential return if an ownership stake is involved.
Jamie Chadwick completed a private Formula 1 test for Williams at Portimão, driving their 2025 car. The three-time W Series champion completed 32 laps during the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session.
