BAKU :Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday after McLaren's Formula One leader Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed out of a qualifying session with a record six red flags.

Carlos Sainz put Williams on the front row alongside the four-times world champion on a tough day for runaway leaders McLaren, hoping to clinch the constructors' title for a second year in a row on Sunday and an unprecedented seven rounds remaining.

Piastri, last year's winner in Baku, qualified ninth without setting a time in the final phase after his biggest mistake so far in a campaign otherwise remarkably free of errors.

"I think the win is ambitious but let's wait and see," said Piastri. "The car has been quick this weekend and hopefully we can use

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