George Russell took full advantage of his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli's early error to claim pole for Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Russell, who was recording his fifth pole of the season but has so far managed only two wins in Australia and Austria, may well have been the fastest man of the day anyway as he was more than eight-tenths of a second faster than anyone else in Q3.
The British driver is now the 2/5 favourite for the race but oddsmakers are not prepared to count out Antonelli, having seen the Italian win from 19th on the grid in Monza recently, and he is the second favourite at 5/1.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull could all be in the hunt for podium places and F1 fans will not want to miss what could be an exciting battle at a challenging street circuit on Saturday lunchtime.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Tips Summary
Best Bet - 1st - George Russell, 2nd - Oscar Piastri straight forecast @ 13/2
Alternative Bet - Isack Hadjar top 6 finish @ 6/4
Bet Builder - Lando Norris podium finish, Pierre Gasly points finish, Kimi Antonelli fastest lap @ 13/1
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Prediction
Best Bet: 1st - George Russell, 2nd - Oscar Piastri straight forecast @ 13/2
Kimi Antonelli can minimise the damage of his qualifying error, when he clouted a wall and damaged the front-left corner of his Mercedes, but another miraculous win from a double-figure grid position could elude him this time.
Antonelli had been slower than teammate George Russell in all three practice sessions and while overtaking is easier in Baku than it was in Madrid two weeks ago, the gap to the leaders could be substantial by the time he has worked his way through the packed midfield.
As such, taking Russell to win looks a sensible option and it's worth boosting the odds by adding Oscar Piastri to finish second.
The McLaren man won this race two years ago and was only one-thousandth of a second behind Charles Leclerc in Q3. Starting from the cleaner side of the grid, he has a chance to jump past the Ferrari man at the start and could have the stronger car for the race regardless.
Alternative Bet: Isack Hadjar top-six finish @ 6/4
Isack Hadjar is the forgotten man of F1 markets as he has been missing from the grid at the last three races due to a wrist injury he sustained over the summer break.
Hadjar had been on a run of seven consecutive top-six finishes before his enforced absence, though, and he is a nice price to resume that trend.
It would have been understandable if it had taken Hadjar a race or two to get back up to speed, but after taking an impressive fourth on the grid for Red Bull he looks capable of at least matching the sixth place that his replacement Liam Lawson managed in Madrid.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Bet Builder Tips
- Lando Norris podium finish
- Pierre Gasly points finish
- Kimi Antonelli fastest lap
Pays 13/1
Not for the first time this season, world champion Lando Norris made a costly error in the final run of qualifying and had to settle for fifth on the grid when a top-three slot had looked within his reach.
He can make his way forward to the top three over a race distance, though, after showing some strong pace at times on the first two days in Baku.
Norris was unfortunate not to win the last race in Madrid, when he had the best pace of anyone on the day but lost ground due to the timing of the safety car's deployment, but he has finished on the podium at three of the past four races and can make the top three again.
Pierre Gasly starred in the recent Italian Grand Prix when he took pole at Monza and he had another strong qualifying performance to take seventh on Friday. The Alpine driver has been in the points at nine of this season's 14 races and can finish in the top 10 again.
Boost the odds of a three-leg bet builder by adding Antonelli to set the fastest lap. The Italian did exactly that when he came through the field to win the Italian Grand Prix and a similar strategy could see him setting the best time of the day as he bids to atone for his Friday flop in qualifying.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Race Stats
- Mercedes have won 10 of this season's 14 races
- Kimi Antonelli has won the last two races
- Only one of the last five Azerbaijan Grands Prix has been won from pole position
- George Russell is on pole for the first time since his win in the Austrian Grand Prix
- Kimi Antonelli, who starts 16th, won from 19th on the grid in the Italian Grand Prix
- Max Verstappen won this race from pole last season and also won in Baku in 2022
Read more F1 betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
