After a chaotic qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Max Verstappen emerged as the polesitter, having held his nerve throughout a heavily-extended session.

A total of six red flags were thrown during qualifying in Baku, a new Formula 1 record. With Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc crashing out, while Lando Norris hit the wall, Verstappen delivered to claim pole position. It turned out he did so on suboptimal rubber, as all the delays meant he had “run out of tyres”.

Max Verstappen overcomes tyre headache at Azerbaijan GP

Never before has a qualifying session featured six red flags. The end result was a one-lap shootout at the end of Q3, as Williams’ Carlos Sainz looked to cling on to an unlikely pole. Ultimately, he was forced to settle for the front row, with Verstappen clinchin

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