George Russell managed to keep Max Verstappen at bay in a nail‑biting conclusion to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, clinching the win by a razor‑thin margin of just 0.1 seconds. The Mercedes driver had seemed destined for a comfortable triumph after building an 11‑second advantage, but two safety‑car periods erased his lead and forced him into a fierce battle with the Red Bull star in the final laps. The lights‑to‑finish victory narrowed Russell's gap to his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who leads the drivers' championship, to 66 points. Antonelli, who recovered from a qualifying crash that left him 16th on the grid, ultimately finished fifth after a strong drive through the Baku streets.
Isack Hadjar completed Red Bull's first double‑podium since the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix by taking third place. Hadjar's performance marked a remarkable comeback after missing three rounds due to a wrist injury.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc slipped from an early‑race second place to finish fourth, while his team‑mate Lewis Hamilton could not improve on his starting position and crossed the line sixth after a pace‑deficient run. A chaotic incident at the restart after the first safety car saw Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly eliminated when Alpine’s Franco Colapinto lost control and collided with them. The crash was precipitated by Williams driver Alex Albon, whose own accident had triggered the safety‑car period. Colapinto later apologized, calling it "a big mistake," while an irate Norris urged the FIA to consider bans for drivers who cause such incidents, suggesting that some competitors "shouldn't be in Formula 1." With this result, Russell emerges as the only realistic challenger to Antonelli for the championship title.
Former champion Lewis Hamilton now sits third, 103 points behind the leader, and Lando Norris is fourth, 116 points adrift, with eight races still to run. Mercedes also edged closer to securing its first constructors' championship since 2021, extending its lead over Ferrari to 160 points. The multi‑car collision opened the door for several midfield drivers to score valuable points. Arvid Lindblad claimed seventh after passing Haas driver Esteban Ocon on the final lap, and Oliver Bearman followed closely to secure a double‑points finish for Haas.
Carlos Sainz earned the final point for Williams, overcoming a five‑place grid penalty and a time‑loss pit stop that had hampered 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 with no points from the event. The race’s top ten finishers were as follows: 1) George Russell (Mercedes), 2) Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 3) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), 4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 5) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 6) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 7) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), 8) Esteban Ocon (Haas), 9) Oliver Bearman (Haas), 10) Carlos Sainz (Williams).
Russell had been dominant in qualifying, nailing pole by nearly a full second on Friday, and he turned that advantage into a strong start, pulling clear of the pack while Oscar Piastri slipped past Leclerc. Verstappen, starting from eighth, surged to third within seven laps, but Piastri’s defensive driving allowed Russell to stretch his lead to 11 seconds before Alex Albon’s crash on lap 31 brought out the first safety car. During the safety‑car period the field pitted, and the race resumed briefly at the start of lap 36.
Russell managed the rolling restart expertly, yet Verstappen overtook Piastri and then a chaotic chain‑reaction unfolded: Colapinto locked his brakes, slid into Gasly, and both were forced into Norris’s path, eliminating all three. With 13 laps remaining, Russell faced a fast‑closing Verstappen. He held his position through a well‑executed second restart, but the Dutchman remained within striking distance. On the final lap, a yellow‑flag incident involving Valtteri Bottas’s stranded Cadillac forced Russell to lift off the power, resulting in a loss of turbo boost.
This brief power deficit gave Verstappen a fleeting chance to overtake, and he narrowed the gap to just 0.196 seconds at the chequered flag. The margin of 0.1 seconds is the closest finish in a Formula 1 race since Rubens Barrichello edged Michael Schumacher by 0.011 seconds at the 2022 United States Grand Prix, a testament to how tightly contested the Baku event was. After the race, Russell reflected on the experience: "The first half of the race felt pretty straightforward, building a solid gap.
The safety‑car restart with Max behind made me realize it wouldn't be easy, and he drove incredibly at the end. When the yellow flag came out for Bottas’s crash, I lifted off the power and lost turbo, leaving me vulnerable. It would have been a real shame, but overall it was an incredible weekend." Missing out on the win would have been cruel after what was arguably Russell's most complete weekend since the season‑opening Australian Grand Prix. He now faces a significant challenge to close the 66‑point deficit to Antonelli, especially as he is set to incur a grid penalty for installing a new engine later in the season.
Nonetheless, the victory provides a massive confidence boost after months of being outshone by his teammate. The win also ties Russell with Antonelli on eight career victories each, after the Italian had previously overtaken him in the standings following the Madrid race. "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 through the tough moments and helping me get through it.
I'm really proud of this weekend." Antonelli, meanwhile, endured a difficult weekend. The 20‑year‑old clipped a barrier in qualifying, dropping from 16th to 17th on the opening lap and spending 17 laps just to climb back into the top ten. He briefly sat ninth, three seconds behind Gasly, before the first safety car shuffled the order. A series of misfortunes for other drivers – Norris locking up, Albon’s crash, and Gasly’s subsequent retirement – allowed Antonelli to gain positions without much on‑track action.
He later passed a struggling Hamilton on lap 42 and came close to overtaking another Ferrari, finishing just under four tenths behind Leclerc for fifth place. "Today I’m happy with P5," Antonelli told Sky Sports F1. "It wasn’t an easy race, and I was often a step behind, especially after missing half of FP2." Despite the setback, Antonelli remains the overwhelming favourite for the title.
He looks forward to the next round, the rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix, which will be held at Sepang in Malaysia due to the ongoing Middle‑East conflict. "It’s exciting," he added. "George had an incredible weekend, he drove with great confidence.
This weekend was my worst of the year in terms of performance – I wasn’t there, I was in damage‑save mode rather than full‑attack." Formula 1 will head to Malaysia for the first time since 2017 as the Bahrain Grand Prix takes place at the Sepang International Circuit. Fans can watch live coverage on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available through NOW without a contract and the option to cancel at any time.