Second row P3 start for Lawson in Baku

Having moved through to Q3 in qualifying on a changeable Baku street circuit, Kiwi Liam Lawson gained his best Formula One grid spot setting third fastest time for the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“It’s obviously been a great day,” commented Lawson. “It was one of the most crazy Qualifying sessions I’ve been in, but we did the right thing by playing it safe to maximise laps.”

**Second placed qualifier Carlos Sainz alongside pole position qualifier Max Verstappen and third placed qualifier Liam Lawson – Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images**

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen will start from pole position with Williams Racing’s Carlos Sainz alongside in P2.

Lawson set the second fastest time behind Sainz early in the final top ten qualifying and then went faster in changing conditions which saw several drivers eliminated due to at times a slippery track. This included current points leader Oscar Pisastri crashing, along with Charles Lecrec,

“The conditions were very different today, very windy with drizzle at times,” said Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance at Racing Bulls. “To add to the difficulty, both Medium and Soft tyres were very close in terms of performance and balance, with a small advantage for the Medium. The team and drivers navigated very successfully though one of the most challenging qualifying sessions this year, which was stopped several times by red flags.”

***#30 Liam Lawson – Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images***

“When it’s windy, it’s arguably more tricky than rain, because you don’t know where it’s coming from,” said Lawson. “It was changing from lap to lap, but we committed and I feel super happy that everything came together for a strong Quali result. It’s going to be a hard race tomorrow, but it’s a great position to start in. We’re well aware of the guys who we’re racing around us, but we’ll work hard as a team and fight to keep position.”

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar will start from P8.

“Liam secured third place on the grid after a fantastic drive, making no mistakes and exploiting the car potential. We have both cars in strong positions for the race tomorrow and the target is to bring home some good points.”

Qualifying Q3 Results

1/ M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1’41.117
2/ C. Sainz Williams 1’41.595
3/ L. Lawson RB 1’41.707
4/ A. Antonelli Mercedes 1’41.717
5/ G. Russell Mercedes 1’42.070
6/ Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 1’42.143
7/ L. Norris McLaren 1’42.239
8/ I. Hadjar RB 1’42.372
9/ O. Piastri McLaren
10/ C. Leclerc Ferrari