George Russell completed a perfect Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend by leading all 51 laps in Baku and defeating Max Verstappen by just 0.196 seconds after a tense late-race battle. Isack Hadjar completed the podium on his return to Formula 1 action, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to finish fifth and limit the damage in the title fight.
The victory capped an exceptional weekend for George Russell, who had already established Mercedes as the benchmark around the Baku City Circuit. After the W17 had shown both leading qualifying and race pace during practice, George Russell converted that advantage when it mattered despite sustained pressure from Max Verstappen after the Safety Car periods.
George Russell wins Azerbaijan GP by just 0.196 seconds
Just 0.196 seconds separated George Russell from Max Verstappen at the chequered flag. It was enough to return the British driver to the top step of the podium after a race in which he made virtually no mistakes.
George Russell’s weekend was faultless. There were no significant errors on track and no mistakes from Mercedes in the pits, allowing the number 63 driver to maximise an opportunity to recover points against Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship.
Mercedes’ underlying strength in Azerbaijan was already evident before the race, reinforcing the broader question of how dominant the W17 has become during the 2026 season. In Baku, George Russell once again demonstrated that the car’s performance is not limited to straight-line speed, with particularly strong pace through the first and second sectors.
Alexander Albon triggers first Safety Car after quiet opening
The race remained largely uneventful until lap 30 of 51, when Alexander Albon produced the first major incident of the afternoon.
The Williams driver misjudged his braking point and hit the outside wall at a left-hand corner, triggering the first Safety Car after almost an hour in which George Russell had controlled proceedings from the front.
The intervention allowed the field to complete its pit stops under Safety Car conditions. At the restart, George Russell executed the getaway perfectly and retained first place.
Only moments later, however, another major accident dramatically changed the race behind the leaders.
Franco Colapinto wipes out Alpine double-points chance
Franco Colapinto made a serious mistake under braking for Turn 1. The Alpine driver braked heavily in an attempt to avoid the cars ahead but could not slow down sufficiently and collided with team-mate Pierre Gasly.
Pierre Gasly was an innocent victim of the incident and was subsequently sent into Lando Norris’s McLaren. Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris were all forced to retire, turning what had looked like a possible double-points finish for Alpine into a disastrous afternoon.
The consequences were especially painful because Racing Bulls had struggled for much of the weekend, giving Alpine an opportunity to capitalise in their championship battle.
There was further contact involving Racing Bulls when Arvid Lindblad made a similar mistake to Franco Colapinto and hit Liam Lawson, sending the New Zealander into a spin while he was running inside the points.
Max Verstappen pushes George Russell for 13 laps
After the race restarted again, the duel many had been waiting for finally developed at the front between George Russell and Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen remained directly behind the Mercedes for 13 laps, applying relentless pressure. George Russell resisted with exceptional pace, particularly through the first and second sectors, underlining how strong the Mercedes package was even through Baku’s more technical sections.
In the end, George Russell held on by 0.196 seconds. The tiny winning margin does not fully reflect how comprehensively he had controlled the weekend before the late Safety Car interventions compressed the field.
Max Verstappen nevertheless produced another outstanding drive. Starting eighth, the Red Bull driver climbed all the way to second and missed victory by less than two tenths of a second.
Isack Hadjar takes podium on return from wrist injury
Red Bull’s weekend became even stronger thanks to Isack Hadjar, who finished third immediately on his return after missing three consecutive Grands Prix.
Isack Hadjar had been sidelined by a wrist injury sustained while training during the summer break, but showed no signs of rustiness in Azerbaijan. His fast and controlled performance delivered an immediate podium alongside Max Verstappen.
The result gave Red Bull two cars on the podium and confirmed a major step forward after a season in which the team has often struggled to match Mercedes consistently.
Charles Leclerc fourth as Ferrari podium drought reaches five races
Charles Leclerc brought the leading Ferrari home in fourth place, but the Monegasque driver was never genuinely in contention for a podium on pure pace.
The two Safety Car periods brought Charles Leclerc closer to the fight ahead, while a major braking mistake from Oscar Piastri later in the race further improved Ferrari’s position. Oscar Piastri ultimately finished only 14th.
Ferrari has now gone five consecutive races without a podium. On the evidence of Baku, the Scuderia currently appears to have slipped to fourth in the performance hierarchy behind Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren.
McLaren’s disastrous race was ultimately one of the main reasons Ferrari was able to finish ahead. The Woking team had already faced difficulties extracting performance from its updated car during the weekend, despite continuing to develop the MCL40 aggressively. The latest McLaren developments can be followed in the McLaren F1 section.
Kimi Antonelli recovers from 16th to fifth
Kimi Antonelli produced an important recovery drive after starting only 16th. The championship leader worked his way through the field and eventually overtook Lewis Hamilton during the closing stages to take fifth place.
Kimi Antonelli came remarkably close to taking fourth from Charles Leclerc as well, crossing the finish line just three tenths of a second behind the Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, more than 22 seconds behind race winner George Russell.
Although George Russell reduced the championship deficit with victory, Kimi Antonelli’s recovery significantly limited the damage. With eight races remaining, the Italian still holds a 66-point advantage over his Mercedes team-mate in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
Arvid Lindblad fights back to seventh after Liam Lawson contact
Arvid Lindblad recovered strongly after the incident with Liam Lawson. During the final laps, the Racing Bulls driver passed both Haas cars to climb to seventh.
Arvid Lindblad overtook Oliver Bearman before completing his move on Esteban Ocon almost on the finish line.
Liam Lawson eventually finished 12th after losing his earlier points position in the spin caused by his team-mate.
Haas scores double points as Carlos Sainz impresses
Despite losing positions to Arvid Lindblad, Haas still had reason to be satisfied. Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon both finished inside the points, delivering a valuable double score for the Constructors’ Championship.
Carlos Sainz also produced an impressive race for Williams. The Madrid-born driver managed to beat Nico Hülkenberg in the closing kilometres, with the latest Williams upgrades helping his cause.
Even so, the result appeared to owe plenty to a particularly strong individual performance from Carlos Sainz, who extracted the maximum from the car in Baku.
Audi narrowly misses points in difficult Baku finish
Audi endured a frustrating conclusion to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Nico Hülkenberg finished 11th, narrowly outside the points, while Gabriel Bortoleto could manage only 13th.
Sergio Perez completed the classified finishers in 15th place for Cadillac. Valtteri Bottas did not make it to the chequered flag, crashing into the wall on the final lap just a few dozen metres from the finish.
Both Aston Martins also retired from the race. The team once again found itself at the back of the Formula 1 field, with the characteristics of the Baku City Circuit further exposing the difficulties of the Honda power units fitted to the AMR26.
George Russell strikes back in championship fight
George Russell could hardly have asked for more from his Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. He controlled the race from the opening lap, dealt perfectly with the Safety Car restarts and resisted one of Formula 1’s fiercest competitors for the final 13 laps.
Max Verstappen’s recovery from eighth to second and Isack Hadjar’s podium made it an excellent afternoon for Red Bull, while Kimi Antonelli’s charge from 16th to fifth prevented George Russell from taking an even larger bite out of his championship advantage.
The margin at the finish may have been only 0.196 seconds, but George Russell’s Baku weekend was far more convincing than that number suggests. Mercedes remains the reference point in 2026, and this time it was George Russell who converted that strength into a flawless victory.
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