Max Verstappen’s pole position in Baku was forged by two high-stakes choices in a qualifying session that pushed everyone to the limit: a switch to soft tyres against initial planning, and a calm, calculated decision to leave the garage late for the final run.
The tyre call that changed everything
Red Bull had geared its weekend around the medium compound, with internal calculations suggesting there wasn’t much to gain from the softs. But amid the chaos and restarts, Verstappen took matters into his own hands and opted for the soft tyre for his last attempt—then delivered.
Helmut Marko revealed the four-time world champion made the call himself. “At the first attempt it could have been done with mediums as well, but at the end it was the right choice to give everything on softs,” he said, praising Verstappen’s composure in a session that “was mentally on the edge.”
Why timing the out-lap mattered
With fewer than four minutes left after the final red flag and just three times on the board, the order of cars at the restart became critical. Verstappen didn’t want to be the first to take the flag—starting the lap too early can be costly at Baku—so he waited. The risk was obvious: one more crash and he’d have no lap at all. The reward was a cleaner track position and a slipstream window that helped seal pole.
Threading the needle in brutal conditions
Strong winds and sporadic rain meant the car was “moving around a lot” with sudden pockets of understeer and oversteer. With rhythm impossible to find amid constant interruptions, Verstappen’s one-lap execution under pressure proved decisive.
The takeaway
In a session defined by uncertainty, Verstappen’s willingness to own the key decisions—tyre and timing—made the difference between starting deep in the top 10 and leading the field away from pole.
