George Russell managed to hold off a charging Max Verstappen in a nail‑biting conclusion to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, securing the win by a razor‑thin margin of just 0.1 seconds. The Mercedes driver had looked set for an unchallenged triumph after building an 11‑second advantage, but two safety‑car periods erased his lead and forced him into a desperate defence during the final laps. The lights‑to‑flag victory narrowed Russell’s gap to his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who leads the drivers’ championship, to 66 points.
Antonelli had clawed his way up from a 16th‑place start – the result of a qualifying crash – to finish fifth, keeping the championship battle alive. Isack Hadjar completed Red Bull’s first double‑podium since the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix by taking third place. Hadjar’s return to the grid after missing three rounds with a wrist injury was impressive, showcasing his resilience and speed. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc settled for fourth after falling from second early on, while his team‑mate Lewis Hamilton could do no better than sixth, a position he started from, as he struggled to find the necessary pace throughout the race.
A major incident unfolded when Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly were eliminated after Alpine’s Franco Colapinto collided with them on the restart that followed the first safety‑car period, which itself had been triggered by a crash from Williams driver Alex Albon. Colapinto later apologised, calling it "a big mistake," while an angry Norris urged the FIA to consider bans for drivers who cause such avoidable accidents, suggesting that some competitors "shouldn't be in Formula 1." With this result, Russell emerges as the only realistic challenger to Antonelli’s championship lead. Hamilton, now third in the standings, trails by 103 points, and Norris, in fourth, is 116 points adrift, with eight races still to run.
Mercedes also edged closer to clinching its first constructors’ title since 2021, extending its lead over Ferrari to 160 points. The multi‑car collision opened the door for several midfield drivers to score points.
Arvid Lindblad capitalised by overtaking Haas’s Esteban Ocon on the final lap to claim seventh place. Behind him, Oliver Bearman secured an eighth‑place finish for Haas, delivering a double‑points haul for the team.
Carlos Sainz earned the final point for Williams after overcoming a five‑place grid penalty and a time‑loss pit stop that had plagued most of the field. Aston Martin endured a disappointing weekend as both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll retired due to technical failures, leaving the team without any points. The race started with Russell on a dominant pole, having set a lap time almost a full second quicker than his rivals on Friday.
He launched cleanly and maintained the lead, while Oscar Piastri slipped past Leclerc to sit in second. Verstappen, starting eighth, surged to third within seven laps, but Piastri’s defensive driving allowed Russell to stretch his lead to 11 seconds before Albon’s crash brought out the first safety car on lap 31. During the ensuing pit stop window, the field shuffled, and the race resumed on lap 36. Russell managed the rolling restart expertly, yet Verstappen managed to pass Piastri and immediately after, chaos erupted when Colapinto locked his brakes, slid into Gasly, and forced Norris into the fray.
This left Verstappen tailing Russell with 13 laps remaining. A second well‑executed restart kept Russell ahead, but the Red Bull driver stayed within striking distance, setting up a tense showdown. As the final lap began, a crash involving Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac triggered a yellow flag, forcing Russell to lift off the throttle. The loss of turbo boost left him vulnerable, and Verstappen seized the opportunity, closing the gap to just 0.196 seconds at the finish line.
The margin of 0.1 seconds is the closest finish in a Formula 1 race since Michael Schumacher edged Rubens Barrichello by 0.011 seconds at the 2022 United States Grand Prix. After the race, Russell reflected on the weekend: "The first half was fairly straightforward – I built a solid gap. The safety‑car restart with Max behind made me realise it wouldn't be easy, and he drove incredibly hard at the end.
When the yellow flag came out for Bottas's crash, I lifted off, lost turbo, and Max almost got me at the line. It would have been a real shame, but overall it was an incredible weekend." The win restores Russell to parity with Antonelli on eight career victories, after the Italian had moved ahead in Madrid. "It's amazing to be back on the top step of the podium," Russell said. "I want to thank the team for believing in me during the tough moments and helping me pull through.
I'm really proud of this weekend." Antonelli, meanwhile, struggled on Baku’s unforgiving streets after clipping a barrier in qualifying. The 20‑year‑old had previously recovered from 19th on the grid to win at Monza earlier in the month, but this time he could only manage fifth place. He dropped a position on the opening lap, spent 17 laps climbing into the top ten, and was ninth before the first safety car, when a series of incidents – including Norris’s lock‑up and Albon’s crash – shuffled the order to his benefit.
Further luck came when Piastri’s mistake dropped McLaren out of the points, allowing Antonelli to move up. Antonelli later eased past a struggling Hamilton on lap 42 and stayed within striking distance of another Ferrari, finishing less than four‑tenths behind Leclerc for fourth.
"Today I'm happy with P5," he told Sky Sports F1. "It wasn't an easy race, and I was always a step behind, especially after missing half of FP2." Despite the setback, Antonelli remains the overwhelming favourite for the title and looks forward to the rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix, now being held in Malaysia due to the ongoing Middle‑East conflict. "It's exciting," he added. "George had an incredible weekend; he drove with a lot of confidence.
This weekend was my worst of the year in terms of performance – I was in damage‑save mode rather than full‑attack." Formula 1 will head to Malaysia for the first time since 2017, hosting the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. Live coverage begins Friday morning on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.