Ferrari have also split their strategy: Lewis Hamilton in 12th is on the hard tyre and Charles Leclerc, two places higher, is on the medium compound.

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Commentator Ben Edwards, reigning F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson are in position for today's race. Click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page to tune in.

Hards and medoums all the way at lights out. Polesitter Max Verstappen is starting on the C4 hard, Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli have opted for the C5 mediums.

George Russell and the other Red Bul of Yuki Tsunoda in sixth are also hard runners along with Verstappen.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Pirelli 2025

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix starts with a mixed-up grid order that should lead to an intriguing race. All things being equal, the easiest question is who is going to win - that should be Max Verstappen at a canter with a bunch of slower cars between him and his potential main challengers.

Strategy is expected to be a locked-on one-stop, on the medium and hard tyres. Title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri should be helped in their attempt to make up ground by being the only front-runners with a new set of medium tyres, presuming they use them to start the race - and why wouldn’t they?

But overtaking is not easy, because the low-downforce levels required on a track with such long straights mean that the DRS overtaking aid is less effective than at some other tracks.

McLaren are usually relatively stronger on race pace than in qualifying trim, because their car is gentle on tyres, but that becomes less of a factor if degradation is low for everyone. As team principal Andrea Stella said after qualifying: “If there's high degradation, we may be more competitive. With low degradation, like we’ve seen in Monza, then not necessarily we have the best race car.”

However, it is very windy again in Baku on Sunday, as it was in qualifying, with an overcast sky again. If the track conditions are difficult, as would be expected, then incidents are likely, and then pace becomes less of a factor than dealing with the race as it throws events at you.

Pit-stop time loss is about 20 seconds under green-flag conditions, 11 seconds under safety car.

Qualifying took a wrong turn for McLaren yesterday but they can still lift the first silverware of the season in Azerbaijan today.

To be crowned champions for a 10th time - and with seven races still to go - McLaren need to outscore second-placed Ferrari by nine points in Baku, while not being outscored by Mercedes by 12 points or more, and Red Bull by 33 points or more.

Image source, BBC Sport

What twist will the title race serve up today? It's got to be something dramatic after yesterday's qualifying. Oscar Piastri, starting ninth, is leading Lando Norris, who is lining up in seventh, by 31 points with eight grands prix remaining.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen says he isn't in the fight this year but the Dutchman can cause a few nervous glances if he keeps banking wins in his Red Bull.

Image source, BBC Sport

The weather doesn't actually need to go crazy for there to be safety cars and red flags on a Baku race day but after yesterday's strong gusts and drizzly moments, the conditions have eased slightly. The wind is still present but the rain should stay away.

Hang on, maybe not. "About an hour or so out, there is a rain storm coming in, so we'll see," Williams boss James Vowles tells Sky Sports.

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton starts in P12 in his Ferrari, speaking to Sky Sports: "We need to be moving forwards, we are out of place and it was looking really good in practice. The car has been feeling great all weekend and I honestly felt it was the strongest package we've had this year.

"I hope we can progress forwards, this is an amazing circuit for overtaking, we've got a great crowd and so I hope we can put on a great race."

On the race strategy: "I think it's really dependant on the weather or the wind, particularly the temperature of the day. At this temperature it's probably closer to a one-stop I imagine, but if it gets cooler it could lead to graining, so who knows."

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari's promising start in Azerbaijan - Lewis Hamilton led Charles Leclerc to a Scuderia one-two in second practice - didn't carry forward to Saturday's qualifying day. While there were midfield teams who thrived amid the chaos, Hamilton was a Q2 elimination and will start P12 and Leclerc was a member of the red-flag six, going straight on into the tyre barrier at Turn 15 and will start 10th.

Hamilton said he felt Ferrari had made a mistake on not putting him on medium tyres for the second session.

"We should have used a medium in Q2," said the seven-time world champion. "That's what everyone else did, we knew it was quicker and I can't tell you why we didn't end up using it, but we will take it internal, but there has been lots of progress.

"I'm still optimistic for the race in terms of trying to move forwards, but wow, I thought I was fighting for the top three, so it's a big shock."

Outstanding. If that doesn't get you pumped up for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, nothing will.

Work continues on Isack Hadjar's car. Will he be ready for the race start? Yes! Well done Racing Bulls.

Image source, Getty Images

I don't think the colour has returned to George Russell's cheeks just yet: he still looks quite pale on his way to the drivers' parade. Still, the Briton put his car fifth on today's grid despite struggling with illness this weekend.

He was, however, outqualified by his team-mate Kimi Antonelli for the first time since the Miami Grand Prix in May. The Italian rookie was on the edge in Q1 after his lap time was deleted but the rest of his qualifying was clean and now he has a great chance to scoop up a haul of points - and possibly a podium. "Hopefully we can look forward and be in the battle for the top three," said Antonelli.

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane tells Sky Sports they think Isack Hadjar's car has a hydraulics issue. The team are now working ferverishly against the clock to try and get the French rookie, starting eighth, up and running for lights out.

Image source, Reuters

Lando Norris, who will start in seventh, speaking to Sky Sports on the race conditions: "Just overtake everyone, put on a good show and have some fun.

"As a team I don't think it was our best performance yesterday, but hopefully it just makes today more exciting."

On the race: "It's always a long race and many things can happen. There is always the expectation of safety cars and virtual safety cars, it's always a race where things can get away from you because of just being lucky or unlucky.

"We've got a good plan and we will try and execute it well. A podium is a target, we would like to try and win. I think Max [Verstappen] is in the best position for that, but we will see how far we can get."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Oscar Piastri's accident seemed to leave an open goal for Lando Norris, as it meant the Australian would be starting ninth, and at that point the Briton was in the running for pole.

Norris trails Piastri by 31 points in the championship, which is quite a margin to close even with eight races remaining.

So Piastri's first major error of the season handed Norris an opportunity on a plate. But it was one he did not take.

His final lap contained a series of small errors, before a big one in hitting the wall at Turn 15. He managed to do so side-on, so could continue, but his lap was a second off Max Verstappen's pole time, and he starts seventh, directly in front of Piastri.

Asked if he saw it as a missed opportunity, Norris said: "No, because I still did everything I could."

Norris said he felt he had got the worst of the conditions because he had chosen to go out first. He did so for good reasons - if there was yet another incident, he would be the first driver to get a chance to post a lap time.

Image source, Getty Images

Oscar Piastri was already taking questions in the media pen as the remaining drivers left in the pole fight continued on, after his rare mistake in Q3 sent him crashing into the wall at Turn Three, bringing out the sixth and final red flag of qualifying.

"You add in wind, kind of a tyre uncertainty, a little bit of rain, cold conditions on a street track like this and stuff's going to happen," said the Australian, who added he was "disappointed with how I performed".

Piastri, along with team-mate Lando Norris, is in recovery mode today and will have to fight his way through the field to salvage his weekend. First target is the Racing Bulls of rookie of Isack Hadjar, in eighth, then it's a papaya showdown with Norris in seventh.

Image source, Getty Images

Carlos Sainz starts in P2 in his Williams, speaking to Sky Sports: "It's been a weird Baku, normally here it's sunny and warm, it's always windy but this weekend we've barely seen the sun and it's been relatively cold for Baku."

On getting his qualifying lap: "Basically every time you had a chance you had to put in a clean and solid lap and that's what we did yesterday.

"I didn't get many chances, I think I completed three or four laps in the whole of qualifying but those laps were under pressure because there was always a red flag coming or a wind gust."

On the tyres: "Yesterday we did a good job in terms of the learnings that we got from Monza and we put that in the plan for this weekend to try and hit that from the beginning.

"This weekend we've been much better on that. I think what helped us yesterday is everyone was struggling with tyres, we were not the only ones."

On the race: "When I put my helmet on and go racing it doesn't matter who is in front of me, you always look forward and to the car in front.

"That's what I will do today and at the start and in the first few laps I will probably be checking after a lap or so and you will realise the pace of the car and realise that it's not good enough to hold off a Red Bull, a McLaren or a Ferrari, but we will see for the rest. For the rest I think we have a decent car to go racing."

Image source, Getty Images

Alongside Max Verstappen in the post-qualifying celebrations were two unfamiliar faces. Well, Carlos Sainz isn't really, but as a Williams driver, he is.

Getting a lap in early in the opening stages of Q3 when the weather was on the turn proved to be the golden ticket for Spaniard Sainz and Racing Bulls' Lawson. For a moment it felt like the pair were going to be sharing the front row, before Verstappen popped up with his pole-snatching time.

With headline names starting out of position, this will be the best chance for a surprise podium. Sainz said he's going to give everything to get Williams a podium - and he's being powered by his Sparkles unicorn sticker, external on his race helmet, while Lawson, on cloud nine after the best qualifying of his Formula 1 career, added: "it's going to be a very hard race."

Image source, Williams X

The cars are out on track but we have an early radio message from rookie Isack Hadjar. "There is something wrong, no? Really weird sound... when I'm on the throttle," says the Frenchman.

BBC Sport's F1 correspondent Andrew Benson explains how Max Verstappen could play a vital role in deciding which of the McLaren team-mates, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri, will be crowned F1 champion in 2025.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen followed up his Italian Grand Prix pole position with another one in Baku to add to his 2025 collection of six - the most of any driver so far this season.

The four-time world champion navigated the delays, plus the slippery conditions caused by the light rainfall, to put his Red Bull at the front of the queue for today's 51-lap race with a top time of 1:41.117.

Verstappen has already triumphed in Japan, Imola and last time out at Monza and he can secure back-to-back wins for the first time this year by converting this pole into a fourth victory.