Sainz drags Williams to the Baku front row in record-stop qualifying chaos
Carlos Sainz didn’t just survive Baku’s madness — he steered straight through it and parked a Williams on the front row. In a qualifying session that was repeatedly torn up and restarted — six red flags, a record for an F1 quali — Sainz owned the moment until the final minutes, when Max Verstappen did what Max Verstappen tends to do. Pole to the Red Bull. P2 to a beaming Sainz and a resurgent Williams.
This was a session that kept thinning the herd. Lewis Hamilton fell in Q2. Championship leader Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc both found the wall in Q3. Lando Norris clipped Turn 15 and limped out of the fight. Through it all, Sainz played the game Williams needed him to play: out early, banker lap in, head down while the others blinked. For a solid stretch, he was sitting on provisional pole for good reason.
“Very happy. Honestly, we’ve nailed qualifying today,” Sainz said afterward, his voice more satisfied than surprised. “Right tyre, right time, strong laps. When a top car threaded it together, we knew we’d be a few tenths off — and it was Max. But we beat the rest. P2 is great news.”
It’s no secret Sainz has been sharper over one lap than his race results have shown this year, and he didn’t shy away from that contrast. “I’ve been delivering in qualifying when it counts. The races and points haven’t gone the way we want, but the speed is there. The good results will come. I’m not worried.”
The target now is simple: podium. The opportunity is real. Track position in Baku can swing a Sunday, particularly with a car that’s tidy on the straights and obedient in the braking zones. And Williams has a subtle ace up its sleeve: Sainz kept back two fresh sets of hard tyres, the compound that’s expected to be the day’s workhorse.
Team principal James Vowles, who’s spent much of the season chasing tyre preparation gremlins in qualifying, credited the garage for a clean execution at a circuit that punishes hesitancy.
“What I’m happy about is the team’s done brilliant work over the last 10 days,” Vowles told Sky. “We’ve not been good in quali getting the tyres ready and working. This weekend, from FP1 to qualifying, first lap, we can get that tyre working. Quick car and good result, and well done to Carlos. You saw how tricky it is. Brilliant driver.”
Vowles knows what’s coming, too: quick cars starting behind. The McLarens, the Ferrari that didn’t kiss a wall, maybe even a Mercedes on a recovery. “We’ve got to accept Verstappen, the two McLarens, they’re quick, and the Ferraris were quick as well,” he said. “But when you start ahead of them here, you have an opportunity to race them.”
Then came the strategic tell. “The hard tyre is really good. You’ll see people focus on that in the race,” Vowles added. “We’ve got two with Carlos, which I think is a huge advantage.” Pause, reality check. “But none of the sims will tell you what this race is. It’ll be VSCs, safety cars, red flags — a combination of chaos.”
Which is exactly why Sainz’s calm qualifying mattered. On a day that invited panic, he never over-reached. He didn’t need to. He stayed in that sweet spot where the Williams looks happiest this season: low drag, stable under load, minimal drama. It’s how you arrive on a late Saturday with a shot to steal headlines from faster machinery.
Verstappen’s lap to deny him a first pole for Williams was inevitable more than cruel, and there’s no shame in losing out to that kind of execution. But starting P2 on a circuit that tends to scribble long notes into the stewards’ log is a live ticket.
No guarantees, of course. Piastri, Norris, Leclerc — they’ll come forward one way or another, and they’ll bring strategy headaches with them. And Baku’s famous restart roulette means Sunday could rewrite stories at a moment’s notice. But Williams wouldn’t trade Sainz’s grid slot or tyre hand for anyone’s right now.
The brief footnote to a long afternoon: Esteban Ocon was disqualified from qualifying after a failed wing test, a reminder that in Baku, even the scrutineering room can add to the casualty list.
Sainz summed up Sunday with the efficiency of a man who’s slept on chaos before. “Plan for tomorrow? Try and stick it on the podium,” he said. It’s not bravado. It’s a workable plan. And for Williams, it’s the most exciting kind.
