George Russell became only the 29th driver in Formula 1 history to complete a grand slam after dominating the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Mercedes. Pole position, victory, fastest lap and every lap led from start to finish gave the British driver the first grand slam of his career and created an extraordinary historical parallel with team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The 2026 Azerbaijan GP, held last Saturday and won by George Russell, produced several notable statistical milestones. Mercedes not only completed a historic move ahead of Ferrari at the top of the all-time ranking for Formula 1 engine victories, but George Russell also delivered one of the sport’s rarest individual achievements.
George Russell completes first F1 grand slam in Baku
George Russell dominated the Azerbaijan weekend, beginning with a commanding pole position in Baku before controlling the Grand Prix itself.
The Mercedes driver started from pole, won the race, recorded the fastest lap and remained in first place for every lap from the start to the chequered flag. That combination constitutes a Formula 1 grand slam.
George Russell is only the 29th driver in the history of the championship to achieve the feat. His performance also continued the extraordinary level of competitiveness shown by the Mercedes W17 during the 2026 season.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli recreate rare 1976 Ferrari feat
George Russell now joins, among others, his own team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who achieved a grand slam of his own a few months earlier in Monaco.
That detail makes the Mercedes pair’s achievements particularly unusual. Having two team-mates each record a grand slam during the same Formula 1 season takes the championship back exactly 50 years.
The only previous occasion on which two team-mates both achieved a grand slam during the same season came in 1976, when Ferrari drivers Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni accomplished the feat.
Curiously, and for well-known reasons, neither Niki Lauda nor Clay Regazzoni became world champion that year. It appears difficult for the same fate to befall both Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in 2026, given Mercedes’ position in the championship.
The battle between the two remains one of the central stories in the 2026 Formula 1 drivers’ championship standings, with George Russell’s dominant Azerbaijan weekend at least partially strengthening his position as the season enters its closing stages.
Jim Clark still holds the all-time F1 grand slam record
Despite George Russell joining the exclusive list, the outright Formula 1 record remains firmly in the hands of legendary two-time world champion Jim Clark.
Jim Clark recorded eight grand slams during his career, remarkably achieving all eight within the space of only four seasons between 1962 and 1965.
Behind Jim Clark on six grand slams are two drivers who have defined much of Formula 1’s modern era: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
George Russell still has a long way to go to approach those totals, but his Azerbaijan GP performance has now placed him on a list shared by some of Formula 1’s greatest drivers while giving Mercedes a statistical achievement not seen from two team-mates since Ferrari’s Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni half a century ago.
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