Qualifying in Baku had crashes, mayhem, a sprinkling of rain and a record number of red flags, and through it all serenely floated Max Verstappen to take a 46th pole position and a sixth of 2025.
Behind him… chaos. Both McLarens hit the wall, as did Charles Leclerc, giving the grid a decidedly unfamiliar look.
Carlos Sainz lines up on the front row for the first time in Williams colours, just ahead of Liam Lawson in P3. Lando Norris is down in P7, but he does, at least, have the glass-half-full satisfaction of starting ahead of his championship rival – and for him, Oscar Piastri and Leclerc and the rest, there are some intriguing strategy options for race day…
/Winners%20&%20Losers%20header%20template%20(3).webp?ssl=1 "5 Winners and 3 Losers from the second pre-season test in Bahrain – who goes into 2026 on a high?")
/16x9%20single%20image.webp?ssl=1 "Charles Leclerc fastest on final day of Bahrain pre-season test ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen")
