George Russell managed to keep Max Verstappen at bay in a nail‑biting conclusion to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, crossing the finish line just 0.1 seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver. The Mercedes racer had seemed set for an easy win after building a comfortable 11‑second gap, but two safety‑car periods erased his advantage and forced him into a fierce battle during the final laps. The lights‑to‑flag victory narrowed Russell's championship deficit to his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who remains atop the drivers' standings, to 66 points.
Antonelli had clawed his way back from a 16th‑place start—forced by a qualifying crash—to finish fifth overall. Isack Hadjar secured third place, delivering Red Bull its first double‑podium since the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix. Hadjar’s performance was especially noteworthy after he missed three rounds while recovering from a wrist injury.
Charles Leclerc recovered from an early‑race second‑place position to take fourth for Ferrari, while his team‑mate Lewis Hamilton, who struggled for pace throughout the weekend, finished exactly where he started—in sixth place. 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 chain reaction began when Williams driver Alex Albon crashed, prompting the safety‑car deployment.
Colapinto later apologised, calling his error "a big mistake," while an irate Norris urged the FIA to consider stricter penalties for reckless driving, suggesting that some drivers "shouldn't be in Formula 1." With this result, Russell emerges as the sole realistic challenger to Antonelli’s championship lead. Former champion Lewis Hamilton now sits 103 points behind, and Lando Norris trails by 116 points, with eight races still to contest. Mercedes also edged closer to clinching its first constructors' title since 2021, extending its lead over Ferrari to 160 points.
The multi‑car incident opened up opportunities further down the order. Arvid Lindblad claimed seventh after passing Haas driver Esteban Ocon on the final lap, and Oliver Bearman finished just behind, delivering a double‑points haul 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 with technical failures, leaving the team without any points. The race’s top ten was 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, securing pole by nearly a full second on Friday and converting that into a strong start that kept him ahead of the pack. While Oscar Piastri briefly overtook Leclerc, Verstappen surged from eighth on the grid to third within the first seven laps.
Piastri then acted as a defensive barrier, allowing Russell to extend his lead to 11 seconds before Albon’s crash on lap 31 brought out the first safety car. During the ensuing pit stop window, the field shuffled, and a short restart on lap 36 saw Russell maintain his position. However, Verstappen slipped past Piastri, and chaos unfolded behind them when Colapinto locked his brakes, slid into Gasly, and sent the Alpine driver into Norris’s path.
The incident left Verstappen in close pursuit of Russell with 13 laps remaining. A second well‑executed restart kept Russell in front, but Verstappen stayed within striking distance, setting up a tense showdown. As the final lap began, a crash involving Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac triggered yellow flags, forcing Russell to lift off the throttle and lose turbo pressure. This loss of power gave Verstappen a fleeting chance to overtake, and he closed 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 Rubens Barrichello edged Michael Schumacher by 0.011 seconds at the 2022 United States Grand Prix, where Ferrari orchestrated a staged finish. After the race, Russell reflected on his performance: "The first half of the race was fairly straightforward, building a solid gap. The safety‑car restart with Max behind made me realise this 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 the power, and when I got back on, I had no turbo, so I lost power and Max almost caught me at the line.
It would have been a real shame, but overall it was an incredible weekend." Missing out on the win would have been a harsh end to what has been Russell's most complete weekend since the season‑opening Australian Grand Prix. He still faces a monumental challenge to close the gap to Antonelli, especially as he is slated to take a grid penalty for a new engine later in the year.
Nonetheless, the victory provides a massive confidence boost after a season where his teammate has often outperformed him. The win also levels Russell with Antonelli on eight career victories, after the Italian had overtaken him 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 through the tough moments and helping me get through it. I'm really proud of this weekend." Antonelli, meanwhile, endured a difficult weekend on the unforgiving Baku street circuit. After clipping a barrier in qualifying, the 20‑year‑old fell from 16th to 17th on the opening lap and spent 17 laps fighting back into the top ten. He was ninth before the first safety car, and a series of fortunate events—Norris locking up and dropping back, Albon’s crash, and Gasly’s subsequent elimination—allowed him to climb further.
A later mistake by Piastri, who also locked up, dropped McLaren out of the points, indirectly benefiting Antonelli. Antonelli overtook a struggling Hamilton on lap 42 and came close to passing another Ferrari, finishing just under four‑tenths of a second behind Leclerc for fourth place. "I think today is one of those days where you have to be happy with P5," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It was not an easy race at all, but overall it was one of those weekends where I was always a step behind, especially after missing half of FP2." Despite the setbacks, Antonelli remains the overwhelming favourite for the title and looks forward to the rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix, now taking place at Sepang in Malaysia due to the ongoing Middle‑East conflict. "It's exciting," he added.
"George has done an incredible weekend, he's driven incredibly. He had a lot of confidence.
This weekend was my worst of the year in terms of performance. I wasn't there, I wasn't really present, especially after what happened early on. I just didn't drive, didn't take the same risk, especially after qualifying.
Today was more damage‑save mode, instead of full‑attack." Formula 1 will head to Malaysia for the first time since 2017, hosting the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. Fans can watch live coverage from Friday morning on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a contract and cancellable at any time.