Carlos Sainz so nearly delivered a shock pole position for Williams, in a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying of record-breaking proportions.<\/p>\n
With a total of six red flags thrown \u2013 the most every seen in an F1 qualifying session \u2013 Sainz<\/a> was sitting on provisional pole until minutes before the end of Q3. He ultimately secured P2, and is chasing a podium on Sunday. He has the \u201chuge advantage\u201d of two sets of hard tyres to play with.<\/p>\n Carlos Sainz and Williams: Azerbaijan GP podium on the cards?<\/p>\n With Lewis Hamilton dropping out in Q2, while Championship leader Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc hit the wall in Q3, Sainz\u2019s chances of a shock result were growing. The Williams driver had dodged the red flag delays to get a provisional pole lap on the board.<\/p>\n When Lando Norris struck the wall at Turn 15, another threat had fallen. Sadly for Sainz, Verstappen held his nerve in trademark fashion, making it back-to-back pole positions.<\/p>\n Still, P2 on the grid for Sainz was an incredible result, as he reaped the rewards for keeping his car on the track, when various frontrunners could not.<\/p>\n \u201cVery happy. Honestly, we\u2019ve nailed qualifying today,\u201d he said after the session.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time, being on the right tyre at the right time, and putting together some very strong laps.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the moment that a top car was going to put a lap together, we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind, like we are always, but it was only one of them which was Max, no surprise. And for the rest, we managed to beat them. And yeah, we were in P2, which is great news.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI\u2019ve been putting good laps together this year in qualifying. It hasn\u2019t been my weakness or my issues at all.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, today, we proved that the speed on this car and this team is there. I\u2019m delivering in qualifying when it counts, and unfortunately, just the year in terms of races and points is not going the way we want.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as long as the speed is there, which, again, today proves, the points and the good races will come, and I\u2019m not worried.\u201d<\/p>\n With just 16 points on the board thus far in 2025, Sainz has the chance to boost his total significantly in Baku. If he achieves his target for the race, then he will do exactly that.<\/p>\n \u201cPlan for tomorrow, try and stick it in the podium,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m going to give it my best to give Williams that first podium [sic]. If it\u2019s possible, great. And if it\u2019s not, we will see.\u201d<\/p>\n Key Azerbaijan GP talking points from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Winners and losers from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying<\/a><\/p>\n