Oscar Piastri saw his pole position hopes in Azerbaijan go up in smoke following a crash towards the end of Q3.
The Australian was pushing to get a time on the board but ran wide into Turn 3 and smacked the barrier.
The collision inflicted significant damage on the McLaren car, ensuring the championship leader was eliminated from the session.
Piastri has rarely made an error this year and Sunday's race in Baku will mark the first time this year he will start outside the top four.
The red flag for Piastri's crash was the sixth deployed during the entire qualifying session, setting a new record for F1.
Piastri enters Sunday's race 31 points clear of title rival Lando Norris.
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