F1 in Azerbaijan: That was almost a close-run thing

Kimi Antonelli could not repeat his Monza magic after a crash in qualifying.

The short version

• A few weeks ago, at Monza, penalties for a power unit change saw Antonelli start the race from even further back (19th), which he followed a day later with a spectacular drive through the field to take the win away from his teammate George Russell.
• But there was some luck involved then; two standing starts (the second following Leclerc’s big crash on lap 2) allowed him to pass a lot of cars quickly, for one thing.
• In Baku he would have a much tougher task.

What happened

By contrast, his beleaguered teammate George Russell had the kind of weekend he probably expected to have a lot of in 2026, as the established driver in the team with the season’s best car. He was comfortably faster than anyone else on Friday in qualifying, setting pole by nearly a second from Charles Leclerc (who’s something of a Baku one-lap specialist, even if he’s never converted any of his four pole positions there into a win).

Why it matters

The McLaren is hamstrung by shorter gearing that, while aiding acceleration in slow corners, blunts its top speed relative to rivals.

Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.