F1 LIVE | Verstappen leads ahead of Sainz, Piastri is out of the race!

Qualifying on Saturday lasted longer than last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with six red flags in total.

At the Baku City Circuit, it was Max Verstappen who claimed pole position. Carlos Sainz achieved his best qualifying result with Williams, finishing second, while Liam Lawson achieved the best result of his career yesterday setting the third-fastest lap time.

Out of the six red flags, two were caused in Q3, with both Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri crashing out. Lando Norris couldn’t capitalize on his championship rival's rare mistake and finished seventh.

It will be cloudy in Baku, and it will get progressively colder. At the start, temperatures of 29 degrees Celsius are expected, dropping by two degrees over the session.

Wind is set to be the biggest curveball for the drivers this Sunday, after many reported gusts during qualifying as well. This can especially be tricky at a track where there is no room for error because of the proximity of the walls.

McLaren could secure its second constructors' title in a row today at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Woking-based team has 617 points in the standings, with their rivals last season, Ferrari, sitting 337 points behind them with nine rounds remaining.

There are 389 points still up for grabs in the remaining rounds. McLaren now needs to outscore Ferrari by nine points, and avoid being outscored by Mercedes by 12.

Norris and Piastri will need to make moves, as Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell qualified fourth and fifth respectively on Saturday.

Check out the latest episode of our F1 Paddock Update series here!